Hold On Tight
by Can't.Be.Saved
Summary: ATL fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**Hold On Tight**

**I'll be honest, I have absolutely no idea where this story is going and that's also why the title may or may not change. I think I'm just gonna go with it. If you have ideas, feel free to let me know.**

**Chapter One: Fat Lip**

Smirking to myself when a Sum 41 song plays from my ear buds, I stuff my notebook in my backpack and threw in my pencil. The bell rings a few seconds later, so I sling my backpack over one shoulder and walk out of my geometry class.

Showing my school ID that we have to wear on a lanyard around our necks to one of the assistant principals, he gives me a simple nod and I walk out the doors to the main entrance of my high school, heading to the football field. I take my ID off once I get outside and shove it in my back pocket, letting the lanyard hang out.

I guess I can take this time to tell you about myself, considering the walk to the field is about a half mile.

Well, hey, there. I'm Autumn Rae Williams. I'm a junior, live in a small suburb of Baltimore, Maryland, and currently at lunch. But you knew that.

I have bright orange Hayley Williams hair with black underneath that, at the moment, is in a ponytail. I dress like an "emo" kid, but have friends in every clique at school. I'm easily impressed and amused and simple things make me happy. I'm still in middle school at heart.

So I have the left side of my nose pierced, angle bites, and the right side of my bottom lip pierced. Let's not forget my belly button and tongue piercing. And my ear lobes three times and the side of my ears four times as well. Don't ask why so many, I'm a weird kid.

My parents aren't the best parents, but I love them. My dad owns a tattoo parlor, (Coincidence since I have all these piercings? Perhaps.) and my mom works at Hooters. Great combination, right?

I'm not exactly the best kid, but I'm not exactly the worst either. I'm a straight A student and don't get in trouble, but that's only because I learned how to hide things.

I have almost no good luck, I always get pulled into drama, I can't stand liars, I hate secrets, I hate people who hold me back, and I'm not a poser. Don't be fake, it's not worth your time.

I doubt I could tell you how many bands and artists I actually listen to. My favorite band is probably Fall Out Boy or Green Day (it changes daily). I have over three thousand songs on my iPod in counting and CDs are scattered all over my house and car. You can't go anywhere near me without finding at least one.

Speaking of my car, (yeah, a long time ago) it got tagged this morning by the seniors graduating this year. All it says is, 'Class of 2005!' Yeah, because we don't know what year you graduate. I don't even know why I have CDs in my car. I drive a 1970 Chevy Chevelle, that's not in the best condition, and I'm lucky if I get to listen to the radio.

Looking down at my black converse with white stars, I make sure they are tied (because that's a very Autumn thing to do) before slinging my backpack over the fence and climbing over it. I land on my feet, but crouched down, so I pick up my back pack and walk over the track and across the field to the metal bleachers on the south side of the field.

No one is here at lunch, usually, so I like to come out here, but considering it's early March, I'm surprised it was warm enough to not wear a jacket. But I forgot the track team has practice out here at lunch today. _Shit, I'm gonna get caught by the coach!_

I ran down the steps of the bleachers, jumping over the railing once I got to the end, then running to the side and crouching down behind the bleachers. I peeked around the corner, waiting for a chance to run across and out of the stadium.

"Boo."

I scream, which echos, which means more of a chance they'll find me, and fall so I'm on my back, but sit up. "Fuck, Jack. Don't scare me like that."

He laughs and sits next to me. "Sorry."

"Who's there?" I hear the track coach call out. Jack and I share a look before I grab his wrist and run under the bleachers to the other side of them. We peek around the edge and I see the coach looking under the bleachers on the other side, Jack lacing our fingers together as we wait, something he and I do a lot even though we aren't dating and we've already established we don't like each other, but that's another story.

The coach is looking under the bleachers on the other side, so me and Jack make a break for it and run to the other side. We both throw our backpacks over the fence, knowing the gate is locked even though the track team is in here, and then climb it.

Once we were on the other side, we were home free, so I just picked up my backpack, along with Jack's and started walking back to the school. "Come on, Barakitty."

Hmmm, Jack Barakat. He's so freaking tall and skinny, it's crazy. One of the most touchy feely guys I know, but in a good way. He's more immature than I am. I met the kid back in ninth grade.

"Give me my backpack!" he says as he falls into step next me, then grabs his backpack from my hand and slings it over his shoulder. "Ah, it's starting to rain."

"No it's-" I started, but cut off when I felt a sprinkle on my cheek. "Oh, it is."

"We could go to your car and wait it out."

"My car sucks, Jack." I switched my backpack to my other shoulder. "It would be cool if it worked half the time."

"Eh, it's not so bad." The rain starts coming down harder now. Thankfully, we were back at the school. Jack and I both slid our IDs on before walking inside. "Wanna go to J hall?"

J hall is where I'm usually at during lunch. It's usually a good spot, except it's right by the gym. Actually, it's the hallway that has the pool and locker rooms in it and the gym is in G hall, which is the hall that leads to every other hallway in the school.

"Sure," I said and Jack and I walked to J hall. There, we saw Rian, one of our friends, sitting up against the lockers. I sat next to Rian and Jack sat next to me.

And then we have Rian Dawson. He's got perfect teeth, literally, and is dating on of my closest friends, Kara.

"Hey, Blaze. Hey, Skunky," Rian said. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Jack, who shrugged, then looked back at Rian. "You have orange hair that looks like fire, Jack has a blonde streak in his hair that makes it look like a skunk," Rian explained. "Therefore, Blaze and Skunky."

"Oh," I said.

"Where's Alex?" Jack asked.

Rian shrugged. "He's around here somewhere."

Jack and Rian both looked at me at the same time. "What?" I said.

Rian looked over at Jack. "We forgot she doesn't like Alex."

"I don't-huh? I don't really even know him," I said.

Ah, Alex Gaskarth. Where to be begin? He's kind of an attention whore, kind of a man-whore. At least that's his reputation. Jack says he's the boy version of me, but Rian says I'm the girl version of Jack. I got so confused when we had that conversation.

"I haven't even met him personally," I said.

"We can fix that," Jack said, smirking.

I raised an eyebrow, then shook my head. "Don't try to hook me up with him."

"But please!"

"No."

"And why not?" Rian asked.

"Because the last time you guys did that, the guy turned out to be a total creeper."

"That kid gave off that creepy child molester vibe. We didn't know him well enough."

"What about that guy that cheated on me?"

"He was an ass anyways," Jack said.

Kara, Rian's girlfriend, came up and sat next to Rian. She kissed his cheek and gave a small wave to me and Jack, which we returned. "What's up?" she said.

"They're trying to hook me up with Alex," I told her.

"Gaskarth?" she asks, eyes wide. I nod.

"We never said we were gonna hook you up with him," Jack defended.

"But you implied it. And that's enough for me."

"I'm not so sure about that, guys," Kara said. "I mean, maybe as a friend, but Autumn doesn't seem like she would be a good girlfriend for Alex."

"Thank you," I said.

"Fine. We won't do it," Rian said, but something about it made me not so sure.

Speak of the Devil himself. A few seconds later Alex came up and stood in front of Rian. "Hey," he said and waved.

"Wanna sit?" Kara asked. Alex nodded and sat down in front of Rian. He looked down the hall for a second, then shifted his gaze, making sure it landed on me.

His eyes...damn those brown eyes. I don't think his hair could look anymore messed up, but it was somehow styled right. Does that make sense?

"Autumn, right?" he asked. I smiled slightly and nodded. Alex looked at me then at Jack then down at our hands, which were now laced together. Damn, he's going to think we're dating. Wait, why do I care?

I let go of Jack's hand and wrapped my arms around my legs that were pulled to my chest. Kara and Rian had started their own conversation, so that left me, Jack, and Alex. It was so awkward.

"Did those hurt?" Alex asked.

I cock my head to the side, confused. "Did what hurt?"

"He's talking about your piercings, smart one," Jack said.

I rolled my eyes and then looked at Alex. "Yeah, they did. Not as bad as you'd think, though."

He nods and mumbles a, "That's cool." And then the bell rang. This was also when I remembered I had the next class with Alex.

No one moved when the bell rang, except the people coming from the other halls. I grabbed my backpack and stood up. "See you guys later," I said before walking off.

"Hey, Autumn! Wait up!" I stopped walking and looked over my shoulder to see Alex walking after me. I smiled at him when he came up to my side and we started walking together. "You're kind of quiet," he said once we turned a corner and started walking down G hall.

I shrugged. "I just don't know what to say."

Alex cocks his head to the side a little. "Is your tongue pierced?"

I nod. "Why? Did I have a lisp?" Damn, now I feel self conscious. What is going on with me?

He shook his head. "No. I saw it when you talked." I felt a little relieved and mouth an O. Alex snickers out of nowhere and that makes me curious.

"What?" I asked, a smile on my face.

He smiles and shakes his head. "Nothing."

"Bull shit."

He fake gasped. "She cusses!"

I playfully pushed him and rolled my eyes. "So do almost all high school kids. Don't change the subject."

"I didn't."

"Alex."

"I'm sorry!" He smiles, but holds his hands up in surrender. "I was just thinking about how weird, but cool, it would be to make out with someone with a tongue piercing."

"Hey, don't look at me." I hold my hands up in surrender, then shove them in the pockets of my red and black plaid skinnys.

"I barely know you, Autumn. Don't try to come on to me," he says, but has a playful glint in his tone and eyes.

My jaw drops in fake shock. "I was not."

"Mmhmm. Sure."

"Shut up." I smile and roll my eyes.

"No." He smiles at me.

"Fine." I stick my tongue out at him before walking into our class in C hall. Alex sits next to me in the back of the class, which surprises me. He's never done that before.

The bell rings and our teacher, Mrs. Mariani, walks into the room. "Good afternoon," she says. The class replies and she gives us an assignment. "I want you to do a project on the Civil War. It's due next Thursday and you will be working with the person sitting next to you." Since I was sitting at the end of the desks and Alex was next to me, that meant we were working together. We shared quick glances and then looked back at the teacher.

"We'll be working on it in class, but I suggest you work on it after school as well. It's worth one hundred and fifty points of your final grade." She pauses to scold a student who was talking. "Be sure to choose between the Union and the Confederate soldiers..." Her talking kind of faded out because I was being talked to by Alex.

"Wanna hang out after school? Get the project done ahead of time?" he said.

I shrugged and nodded. "Sure."

"So...uh, can I have your number?"

"Um, yeah. Here." I ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook and wrote my phone number down on it, then handed it to him. He ripped the paper in half before writing down something and handing it back to me. I looked down and saw his number. "Cool."

There were three things I knew about Alex. I had to work on a history project with him, Jack and Rian were trying to hook me up with him, and there was something about him that I couldn't quite place, but it was making me want to know more about him...

**Pssst...review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Since I forgot to do this last chapter...**

**Disclaimer for the whole story: I do not own All Time Low, any other band or brand, the title, or some of the chapter titles in this story.**

**Chapter 2: East Coast Anthem**

**Alex's POV**

Autumn Williams. I don't know a whole lot about that chick, except I have history with her. Jack, Rian, and Kara talk about her a lot.

Her reputation is simple. She's a strait A student, but isn't exactly the best kid. If you need a way to sneak around and not get caught, all you have to do is ask her. At least, that's what a lot of people say.

I sighed a little and looked over at her out of the corner of my eye. She was writing something down out of a textbook for our history project. Her orange hair was enough for complete strangers to mistake her for Hayley Williams. And all those piercings normally wouldn't have looked good, but she pulled it off.

"I can tell you're staring at me," she said, never glancing up, but I could tell she had a smile on her face.

"How?" I asked.

"Because I am amazing. So what about this?" She set her notebook on my desk to show me her notes.

"Can handwriting be pretty? Because this is," I said as I read over it.

"Thank you."

"I guess it's a good idea." I set the notebook back on her desk. "But I don't really care what we do."

"Oh," she flips the notebook closed, "well, neither do I, honestly. I just chose what we just covered. Figured it'd be the easiest."

I nodded. "Yeah."

"So tell me something, Gaskarth," Autumn said after a few minutes of silence.

"Sure, what'cha wanna know, Williams?"

She raises an eyebrow for a second, but says, "Don't you have band practice today?"

"Um, yeah."

"So do you want to work on this project after that? Or wait until Saturday?"

"Well, Saturday we have a gig to play. You ever been to one of our shows?"

Autumn shakes her head. "God, I'm a terrible friend." She laughs a little.

"Aw, from what I've seen-and heard," her eyes lit up a little when I said that, "you're not so bad."

"Um, thanks. I think." She scratched the back of her head.

"You're welcome. So do you want to come to the show Saturday?"

Autumn shrugs and smiles. "Sure."

"Then you could come to band practice and then we could work on the project at my house?"

She nods. "That sounds cool. Okay." She smiles.

I smile back. "Cool."

**Autumn's POV**

"AUTUMN!" I heard Jack scream, followed by him picking me up by the waist from behind and spinning me around more than once. That made me squeal.

"Well, that's one way to scare the hell outta me," I said once he set me down, then leaned up against the lockers in the hallway.

Alex walked out of the classroom. "I thought I heard someone scream. Hey, Jack."

"I didn't scream. Autumn did," Jack said.

"Picking her up without her knowing you were going to?"

"Yes," I said with a fake pout on my face at Jack.

"Aww, you know you love me." He hugs me from the side.

"Eh, I don't know..." Jack makes a shocked expression. I smile. "I'm kidding."

"So, Autumn's coming to band practice and the gig we have Saturday," Alex says.

Jack looks at me. "Really?" I nod. "'Bout time you came to one of our shows!"

I nod again. "I know."

"So...should we leave?" Alex said.

"I think we should," Jack said.

I look at Alex. "I'll call you for your address later. See ya, guys," I said and waved before walking down the rest of the hallway, out the main entrance doors of the school and to the parking lot.

**Alex's POV**

Jack and I stared after Autumn, but then he turned to me. "You guys hit it off."

"Um, yeah, I guess so," I answered, shrugging, but then Jack and I started walking towards the main entrance doors.

"When did she decide to come to band practice?" Jack asked.

"When we found out we had to work on a project together and had to find some time to do it after school."

"Haha. Do it. Didn't think you guys hit if off that fast."

I punched him in the arm, but laughed. "That is not what I meant."

"I know."

"I don't think you do. You've been telling me about her for, like, two weeks now."

"Because you would make such a good couple!" Jack threw his hands down at his sides for dramatic effect.

I cocked my head to the side and fought a laugh. "Jack-"

"Do not make fun of me." By now we had made it out of the doors to the school and started walking to my car. "But I'm serious. You would."

I shook my head. "I don't know, dude. She seems just like a great friend to me. And I thought you were dating her?"

Jack's expression showed a big question mark on his face. "Why do you think that?"

"You were holding hands with her."

"Naw," he said with a wave of his hand, "we've always done that."

"But you like her?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's a long story. I'll explain later."

"Okay, then?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Just trust me, will ya?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I? But she still just seems like a good friend. Nothing more."

"Okay. I'm not trying to make you date her. I'm just trying to get you guys to know each other. And then if you want to date Autumn after you become friends-which I still say you will-then go for it."

"Jack, that's trying to hook me up with her."

"If you wanna put a label on it."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. But maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Smooth**

**Autumn's POV**

"I just figured you'd want to see my sexy face," Alex said.

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see it. We were on the phone. "Yes, Alex. How did you guess?"

"Don't roll your eyes at me."

What? "How did you know?"

"I'm observant and you just had that kind of tone on. So are you coming here?"

"I thought we already established I was?"

"Okay. Just checking." He names off his address.

"Dude, you live, like, three blocks away. I could walk there."

"Go for it, I guess. Just be here."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

"Okay, bye."

I hung up and got off the couch, walking out the door and over to Alex's. I knocked on his door and he answered. "Damn, you do live close."

"I told you," I said and shrugged. He stepped aside to let me walk in, which I did.

"So...you're the only who showed up so far," he said as he shut the door.

"That's cool," I said, simply.

"My mom wants to meet you."

"Um..."

"Not good with parents?"

"They see my hair and my piercings and think I'm either a fucked up kid, an all out badass, or stupid," I explained.

"I already told her. She's cool with it." As he said this, he started walking through his living room, so I followed him. "Hey, Mom?"

"In the kitchen," she calls. I did happen to notice a thick English accent.

And this was when I met Alex's mom. The usual, 'nice to meet you' was thrown around and she seemed pretty nice. After a few minutes-and an awkward silence-Alex turned to me.

"You can put your back pack in my room?" he suggests.

I shrug. "Okay."

I followed Alex back through the living room, up the stairs, and down a hallway, until he opened a door to a room at the end of the hallway on the right and then walked in.

I looked around. His room was kind of simple. White walls, tan carpet, a bed in the middle with a dresser next to it and a desk in the corner. Sure, there was some posters on the wall, but I counted four.

"Cool," I said, setting my bag down by the door.

"Okay, not trying to be mean," he sits down on his bed, "but you need to loosen the fuck up."

To my surprise-and I think his, too-I actually laughed. "You're forward," I said, sitting next to him.

"See? Now, was that hard?"

I shook my head and looked around, my eyes landing on his CDs. "Nope." I pointed to his CDs. "Good choices."

"Thank you." He smiles.

"Mmhmm." I crossed my legs, "So now what do we do?"

"What's your natural hair color?" Alex asks out of nowhere.

"Um, dark brown. Why?"

"Just wondering. I mean, there's no way that orange is."

"That would be really cool, though."

"Do you ever get mistaken for Hayley Williams?"

I shook my head. "I think they see the black and the piercings and figure out the difference."

"That makes sense."

"Oh my God, hi," Jack says and lays down on Alex's bed.

"Hey," Alex and I said at the same. We shared looks, then smirked.

"Autumn, come here," Jack says and puts his arms around my waist.

Okay, so one things about me? I am EXTREMELY ticklish on my stomach. The slightest movement-like, Jack putting his arms around my waist- will tickle the crap out of me.

So I squealed and squirmed a lot. Ending up kicking my feet and pulling Jack's hands off of me, all while laying down and pulling my legs and arms to my chest, laughing the whole time.

Alex looked at me with an eyebrow raised, then looked at Jack. "What the fuck?" he said with a laugh.

"She's really ticklish there," Jack said. Alex looked at me so all I did was nod. He acts like he's going to poke my stomach, which only makes me squeal and move away from him, sitting up against his head board.

"Are you guys raping her?"

We all looked over at the door to see Rian. "No, Rian," Jack says, "we wouldn't do that without you."

"Whoa, hey, there," I said. "Slow it down now."

"No promises." Jack winks at me.

"She looks so freaked out," Alex says.

"I am," I replied, simply.

"We were only kidding," Rian says.

"I know." This was when the doorbell rang.

So Jack and Rian ran downstairs, Jack yelling, "Zack's here!"

Alex and I shared looks before we both got up. He let me go first, so he was following me. My foot slipped and I almost fell. Alex must've been close or saw I was falling because he wrapped his arms around my waist, catching me so I wouldn't fall.

"Whoa, you okay?" he said.

I gain my balance and look up. His face was so close to mine, I nearly had a panic attack. I swallow hard and answer. "Um, yeah. Thanks." I smile up at him.

Alex smiles back. "You're welcome," he says before letting go and we both finish walking downstairs.

**Alex's POV**

"Hey, my mom ordered pizza, do you want any?" I asked Autumn. She was in our dining room off of the kitchen doing something on her phone.

"Yeah, sure." She smiles at me and slides her phone into her pocket as she follows me into the kitchen.

"Here you go." Jack hands her a plate with two pieces of pepperoni pizza on it and a can of Pepsi.

"Thanks," she says, opening the can.

"So guys, guess what," Rian says, taking a bite of pizza.

"Did you finally grow pubic hair?" Jack asks, completely serious.

Autumn snorts, Zack shakes his head, and I laugh. Rian looks taken aback, but smiles and says, "Yeah, do you plan on it any time soon?"

"Hey, you can't backfire the joke on me," Jack says through a bite of pizza.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?"

"Shut up." Jack leans back on the bar stool he was sitting on and crosses his arms.

Autumn looks at me and Zack, who was standing next to me. "He ran out of comebacks."

I nod. "Very true."

"I did not run out of comebacks," Jack says.

"But you did," Autumn says.

"No, I didn't."

"Then why didn't you say one?"

"Because-I just-" He groans. "Fuck you for being right."

"Shit," Zack said, looking down at his phone. "My mom wanted me home thirty minutes ago. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Nice meeting you, Autumn." We called out our goodbyes as he walked out of the house.

I sighed. "I don't wanna do that history project."

Autumn shook her head. "Neither do I."

"So don't do it," Jack said, shrugging.

"I have to keep my grades up if I want to stay in the band," I said.

"I get all A's, Jack," Autumn said. "I can't just not do it."

Rian groaned. "Live a little and don't get good grades, for once?"

"I like getting good grades."

"I do, too," Jack said. "It means I get good grades." We all laughed.

"'Cause he's a little bitch that copies me."

"Not nice."

"I never said I was." She smirks at Jack, who shakes his head.

"You're not," Jack says, completely serious. Autumn reaches over and goes to slap him on the back of his head, but Jack ducks down and she misses. "I'm sorry. You're awesomely nice! The nicest person ever!"

"That's more like it," she says with a smirk before taking a bite of her pizza. Rian and I both laughed and we all just kind of ate in silence for a few minutes.

"So..." Jack said, breaking the silence. "homecoming is in two weeks."

"You going with anybody?" Rian asks, smirking at Jack.

Jack shrugs. "Not at the moment."

"Rian'll go with Kara," I said.

"Yup." He nods.

"Are you gonna go with anybody?" I asked Autumn.

"I probably won't go." She shrugs.

"What!" Jack says. "You have to!" He grabs her shoulders and shakes her.

Autumn puts her hands on his wrists to stop him. "No, I really don't," she says, shaking her head.

"Yes. You will."

"Whatever you say."

"Who's Alex going with?" Rian asks me.

"I didn't know I was going with someone," I replied, shrugging.

"Am I the only one that thinks this homecoming is super late?" Autumn asked.

"It was the only day we had a home game," Rian said. She mouths an O.

"Hey, Rian, I'm supposed to be home in, like, fifteen minutes. Can I get a ride?" Jack says.

Rian sighs. "I guess so."

Autumn and I both say, "Bye," as they walk out of the house, leaving me alone with her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Perfect Situation**

**Autumn's POV**

"Hey, Autumn. Hey, Autumn. Hey, Autumn."

I looked at Alex and he didn't stop poking my shoulder. "Yes?" I said, fighting a smile.

"Can we take a break? Please?"

I set my pencil down in my book, then closed it. "What do you want to do? And stop poking my shoulder."

"Oh." He puts his hands in his hoodie pocket. "I don't care. What do you want to do?"

"Honestly, I would prefer if I didn't have to pick."

"We could watch a movie?" Alex suggests.

"Which one?" I ask.

I had no idea I would start one of the most ridiculous arguments I would ever be in.

"Wayne's World."

"Lilo and Stitch."

"Wayne's World."

"Lilo and Stitch."

"Wayne's World."

"Lilo and Stitch."

"Wayne's World."

"Lilo and Stitch."

"Wayne's World."

"Lilo and Stitch."

"Lilo and Stitch."

"So you agree with me?" I smirked at Alex.

"No. I was trying to get you to say Wayne's World."

"Maybe we shouldn't watch a movie then."

"Why not?"

"We can't agree on one," I laughed.

Alex shook his head, but was smiling. "So then what the fuck do we do?"

I simply shrug and bend down to fix my shoe, but look back up quickly. Seeing something flash across Alex's eyes when I look back up, I furrow my eyebrows together in confusion. "What are you thinking about?"

He looks taken aback, but replies, "How'd you know?"

I shrug. "I could just tell. So what were you thinking about?"

Alex shakes his head. "Nothing important."

"Don't want to tell me? That's cool." I hold my hands up in surrender.

"Your opinion of me will change."

"Dude. No way it's that bad." I say this as I pick up my backpack and go to slide my book in, but three CDs fall out as well as a concert ticket.

I pick up the CDs and go to pick up the ticket, but Alex already did. "That's a good band," he says as he slides the ticket over to me. It was to see Jimmy Eat World at the end of April.

Getting an idea, I said, "Do you want to go, too? I have an extra ticket and everyone I asked either can't go, or doesn't like them."

"How could not like Jimmy Eat World?"

"That's what I said."

We both laugh and he says, "You sure no one else you know can go?"

"Yeah," I nod. "I don't see why, though." I shrug and hand him the extra ticket out of my backpack.

"So cool!" he says and slides it in his textbook.

I giggle and put the CDs that fell out into my backpack. "Should be fun."

"Mmhmm." He nods.

**Alex's POV**

I watched as Autumn put her textbook and notebook into her backpack. She raises an eyebrow at me. "So...Wayne's World?"

"I thought you wanted to watch Lilo and Stitch?" I ask.

"Eh," she shrugs, "I kinda wanna watch Wayne's World now."

I nod. "Want popcorn?"

"But of course!" She smiles. I smile back and walk into the kitchen and she follows. "If you give me the DVD, I'll put it in." She says and scratches the back of her neck.

"Uh, okay. Hang on." I put the popcorn in the microwave and walk back into the living room, over to the cabinet we kept the DVDs in. I dig around in it for a little bit, finding the movie and handed it to her as the microwave went off.

So a few minutes later we were both sitting on the couch, my legs crossed and hers pulled to her chest, watching the movie. When the movie was about thirty minutes from being over, I felt something fall on my shoulder. I looked down and saw that Autumn was asleep with her head on my shoulder. I smirked, but then got the feeling that I wanted to put my arms around her.

What?

I'm confused. I just met this girl today. I barely know her. And now I'm letting her sleep on my shoulder and I want to put my arms around her. Did I like Autumn?

The movie was over so I turned off the DVD player, but kept the TV on and flipped it to MTV. This was when I noticed I did have my arms around Autumn, and I wasn't letting go.

**Two Hours Later**

**Autumn's POV**

When I woke up, I noticed it was dark outside. I looked over at the clock and saw that it read, "10:43". "Damn," I mumbled.

I took in my surroundings, noticing the TV was at a dull murmur on some show on MTV, all the lights were off except a light glow coming from the kitchen, and I was in Alex's arms on the couch with my arms around him, too, and he was still sleeping.

Taking in a deep breath, I'm shocked by this, but figure it must've just happened because we were sleeping. I pry myself away from him and he groans quietly, shifting a little, but his eyes flutter open. I smile and open my mouth to say something, but it's cut off by a yawn.

Alex chuckles, but yawns himself and I laugh softly. "I should probably go," I said.

He nods and we both get up, me grabbing my backpack, and walk to the door. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Alex says once we get to the door.

I smile and nod. "Yup."

Alex smiles back and glances down at my lips. I think my heart caught in my chest for a minute as he leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Bye," he says as he pulls back.

I smile and say, "Bye," then walk out the door, feeling my cheeks flush A LOT once I get outside.

Not only was I shocked that he kissed my cheek, but I was also shocked at how much I wanted to kiss his lips.

Holy fuck balls.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: This Shit Getz Old**

**Autumn's POV**

"Come on..."

"No."

"Come on..."

"No."

"You know you want to go."

I shook my head. "Jack, I think you just want to see me in a dress." I turned a corner and started to open my locker.

Jack had been following me, but he put his arms around my waist from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. "A very hot dress at that."

"Creeper." I pulled his arms off of me and shut my locker, then faced him.

"eh." he shrugged. "But you should still go."

"I don't want to go to homecoming." I look around him to see two guys pushing each other. Fight? Nope, the teachers broke it up before anything happened.

"You just don't want to go because you don't have a date," Jack said.

"That's not true," I said. Even though it was.

"That's a lie."

"I know." I walk around him to go to gym. It's required for all years, but we get to swim today.

"Why does that bother you?" Jack falls into step next to me.

"We have two homecomings a year and this is the sixth one of our high school lives." I turned to face him, but was walking backwards. "I've never had a date to any of them and that bothers me."

"You act like you've never had a boyfriend."

"I'm not exactly the pretty one, Jack." We turned a corner and I started walking forward towards the locker rooms.

"Don't be so damn insecure." He pulls me to the side of the hallway, wraps me in a hug, then looks into my eyes. "You are gorgeous and I would date you, except I don't like you that way."

I roll my eyes, but feel my cheeks flush. "Thanks, Jack."

"When were, like, thirty-five and if neither of us are married," he keeps an arm around my shoulders and we start walking again, "I'll marry you and we'll make beautiful children."

I laugh. "I'm so glad I'm the only one that heard that."

Jack laughs, too, and nods. "Me, too."

"But I hope they get my nose."

He pouts at me, so I kiss his nose and then he smiles before walking into the locker room. "See you in PE."

"Mmhmm." I nod.

**XXXX**

"Hey." I looked to my left to see Kara as she linked her arms with mine. She cocked her head to the side. "Why's your hair wet?"

"You're swimming in PE," I answered as we walked into the lunchroom.

"Oh," is all she replies as we get in line. "Are you eating today?"

I shake my head. "Not hungry."

Kara nods. "So...what color are you wearing to homecoming?"

"I don't think I'm going," I said, honestly.

Kara sighs and gives me a look. "So what if you don't have a date?"

I considered this for a second. Jack and Kara were both right. Who gives a damn if I don't have a date? And since when did I care what people thought anyways. Plenty people go to homecoming without dates. So what makes me any different?

I sighed and flipped my bangs out of my eyes. "You have to go dress shopping with me."

"Yay!" She smiles. "When?"

I shrug. "Wanna go after school?"

"Sure."

"Is Zack going to homecoming?"

She nods. "Yeah. I had to buy his ticket this morning."

"Don't tell them unless they ask," I said.

She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "Whatever."

**Alex's POV**

"Ask Autumn," Rian said. He was walking with me to the cafeteria.

"No," I said.

"Ask Autumn to homecoming."

"No."

"You know you want to."

"So?"

"So you do want to?"

"Shut up, Rian."

"You do!"

"So?" I pulled the door to the lunchroom open and walked in, sitting down at a random table.

"Why not ask her then?" Rian asked as he sat down across from me.

"Because I don't know if I like her."

"Really?"

"Yeah." I nod.

"Well..." He pauses. "That's not what I expected you to say.

"Gee, thanks."

Rian shrugs. "Sorry."

I shook my head, but looked up and saw Autumn standing with Kara. Fuck, why can't I get this girl out of my head?

"You should ask her to go with you. Like, as friends," Rian said.

"And what will that do?" I said.

"It will let you see if you like her or not. Plus, she'll be more willing to go."

"I don't know..."

"She'll go anyway. With me, Jack, and Kara all bugging her, she's gonna give in."

"Then I don't have to ask her. See?"

"But it will mean more if you do."

I sighed. "Dammit."

"What?"

"You're right."

"That's good, right?"

"I sure hope so," I mumbled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: 'Cause They're Throwing Us Lemons...**

**Autumn's POV**

"Jack, where are you taking me?"

"Just trust me, Autumn."

"Last time I trusted you I was thrown into a lake." Long Story.

Jack stopped walking down the sidewalk and faced me. "I'm taking you to a party."

"I'm not so sure I should believe you."

"Well, I'm not lying. Now come on." He grabbed my wrist and started dragging me down the street.

"Jack, I love you and all, but I'm not gonna have a ride home."

"This kid has a skateboard. You know you can use it."

"So it's Zack's house?"

Jack stopped walking and faced me again. "Do I really talk about my friends that much?"

"Yes." I smirked. He shook his head and started dragging me down the street again. It wasn't exactly hard to tell which house was the party by the music, people going into the house, and the cars surrounding it.

Jack walked right through the door, me following. He dragged me over to Alex and Zack, dropping my wrist once we got to them. "What's up?" he asked.

"Not a lot," Alex said, handing Jack and I a blue plastic cup. (Wow, they're not red. Shocking).

I took a drink of the red liquid inside. "Spiked punch?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you see," Alex started, draping an arm around my shoulders, "we wanted to start you off small."

"I can handle myself," I defended, pushing him away.

"She can hold her alcohol pretty well," Jack said. Alex cocked an eyebrow.

"I was raised by a tattoo artist and a girl that works at Hooters. Not exactly a good combination."

"Your mom works at Hooters?" Zack asked, speaking up for the first time. I nodded.

"She's hot," Jack said.

"Hey, that's my mom you're talking about there," I said.

He shrugged. "Sorry." Only then had I noticed Alex walked away. "I'm gonna go find Rian," Jack said, then walked off.

"Do you live here?" I asked Zack, sipping my punch again.

He shook his head. "See those cupcakes over there?" He pointed behind me so I looked over my shoulder to see about three dozen cupcakes with white frosting and little roses on them.

"What about them?" I asked, looking back at Zack.

"The girl who does live here? Her parents own a bakery that made those."

"That's explains it," I said.

He moved so he was standing next to me and pointed to a girl dancing with a group of guys in the middle of the living room with long black hair, blonde highlights, wearing a white tank top and jeans. "It's her."

"She looks like a bitch," I said, bluntly.

Zack smirked. "I wouldn't know." He set his cup down behind me after taking a drink, then crossed his arms. "You know, I've noticed, you're kinda defensive."

"Yeah?" He nodded. "And I've noticed you're kind of judgmental."

"Everyone is." He shrugged. "So I hear you skateboard."

I shrugged. "I can't do any tricks or anything, but yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You know, if you don't know how to skateboard, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Zack smirked.

"I know how to skateboard."

"Sure you do."

"I do. I just can't do any tricks."

"That's kind of required if you know how to skateboard."

"Which, I do."

"Maybe I could teach you a few tricks sometime."

I looked at him with a smirk. "Are you asking me out?"

"Do you want me to be?"

"I might."

"Then, I'm asking you out. Autumn, would you like to go to your homecoming with me?"

"Actually," I smiled, "yeah." Zack smiled at me and was about to say something, but the girl who was dancing in the middle of the room met eyes with me at that moment.

Kara walked over and grabbed my arm, dragging me through the living room and into the kitchen. "You have to get out of here."

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"That girl in the middle of the room? Nicole? She's-" Kara was cut off by said girl walking into the kitchen, followed by two girls, one with red hair, one with blonde.

"You." I raised an eyebrow and face her. "What's your name, skank?"

I smirked. "Autumn."

Nicole narrowed her eyes. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's-"

"She didn't know, Nicole," Kara said from my right. "Just leave it."

"I think she knew very well," Nicole said, death glaring at Kara for a second, but quickly turning her gaze back to me. She jabbed her finger at me, landing it on my chest. "Stay away from Zack, okay? He's my boyfriend."

I stifled a scoff and kept smirking as I pushed her hand away from me. "No problem."

"Good. Now get off my property."

I walked around her and her two followers, back through the living room. "Hey," Zack said. He was still in his original spot.

"Hey. I think I'm gonna head home."

"But, you just got here."

"Yeah. I was here for five minutes and I've already almost gotten my ass kicked." I sighed and downed the rest of my cup I still had in my hand before setting it down on the table behind Zack. "I could take her, but it's not exactly in my plans this evening. But get my number from Jack and call me, okay?"

Zack nods. "I'll walk you out."

"You really don't need to do that, trust me."

"But I'm going to." Before I could say another protest he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door, which was surprisingly not crowded around. "So how did you almost get your ass kicked?"

"The girl that owns the house told me she was your girlfriend. I don't think I'll be able to go to homecoming with you."

Zack smirked. "She's not my girlfriend."

I smirked back and pulled open the door. As I walked out I said, "You might want to tell her that."

**Alex's POV**

"You're what?" I said, eyes wide.

"I'm going to homecoming with Autumn," Zack said.

"Damn. The boy has game," Jack said from the other side of me on my couch.

"Yeah. So does Autumn," Rian said from the other side of Zack.

"When did you ask her?" I asked.

"Last night."

"At the party?"

"Yeah." He nods. "Right after you walked away."

"Shit." I leaned back on the couch. I was too late.

"Hey, I gotta go," Zack said, standing up, "but I'll see you at the gig later, okay?" We nodded and he walked out.

When I heard the door slam, Rian turned to look at me. "You suck," he said.

"This is what happens when you don't ask people out in time," Jack said.

"Shut up," I said. "I don't like her anyways." I got up and walked into my kitchen.

I heard Jack scoff, "Sure you don't."

"I know," I mumbled.

**Autumn's POV**

"Blue or black?"

"What?" I looked over at Kara, who was holding up two pairs of jeans, one black, one blue. "I like the black ones better."

"You would." She rolls her eyes, but smiles at me.

I shrug. "Sorry. I thought we were shopping for dresses?"

"If we're shopping for dresses, why are we at Hot Topic?"

"Because you wanted to come here."

"Don't act like you didn't want to go here."

I rolled my eyes and picked up a CD. "I wasn't denying it," I put the CD back, "I just don't exactly want to waste my money here if I have to buy a dress."

Kara looked completely taken aback. "Wow. I figured you'd want to spend all your money so you couldn't buy a dress." She put both pairs of jeans back. "Looks like Zack's got you excited for the dance." She grinned at me.

I felt my cheeks flush a little. "So?"

"What happened to Alex?"

"All he did was kiss my cheek, Kara," I said as we walked out.

"You know it was way more than that." She smirked at me. "At least to you, anyways."

I shrugged. "Zack...got my attention- I guess you could say- at the party yesterday. He asked me to homecoming so I said yes."

"You may or may not be getting your ass kicked by Nicole."

I shrugged. "I could take her."

"I know," she laughed. "So does this mean nothing's gonna happen with you and Alex?"

"You know, Kara," I said as we walked into JC Penny's, "I feel like I should slap you."

"Don't. You know you're thinking the same thing. What does it mean?"

I sighed. "I, honestly, have absolutely no idea."

**Alex's POV**

"Hey, what if you, like, asked her out before homecoming?" Jack asked.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"Why do you care? You don't like her, remember?" Rian said.

"Yes, he does, Rian," Jack said. "He just won't admit."

"Fuck you, guys, okay?" I said. "Now, just tell me what you were thinking, Jack."

"Okay, so," he shifted so he was facing me, sitting with his legs crossed on the couch, "what if you asked her out before homecoming, but not to homecoming?"

"You mean, like, a date?"

"Well...yeah."

"But you wouldn't be able to call it that," Rian pointed out.

"Exactly. Because, not only would she say no because of Zack, but she would also not go," Jack said.

"But Zack would find out and I don't want him to be pissed at me," I said.

"He's going to be anyways when he finds out you like her."

"But I don't like her."

"Alex, stop fucking around. You know you do," Rian said, rolling his eyes.

"Fine."

"So, ask her to go bowling, or something," Jack said. "If you want, bring friends."

"Will you guys go?" I met eyes with Rian and then Jack, who shrugged and nodded.

"Kara will go, too," Rian said.

"Okay, then. I'll call her."

"This can only end badly," Jack mumbled, but I blew him off.

**Autumn's POV**

"What about this one?" Kara held up a pink dress. Except, it wasn't just a pink dress. It was hot fucking bright ass pink.

"Well, if you want to wear it..."

"Autumn, you know we are shopping for you right now."

"Then, I'm not wearing that bright of a pink."

"So then go try on those two dresses you have," she pointed to the red and purple dresses I had slung over my arm, "and of they don't work, we'll go somewhere else."

"Keep in mind, I'm doing this for you," I said as I walked into the dressing room.

"Don't forget to come back out," she called after me.

I walked into the dressing room and tried on the purple one first. The dress tied around the neck, making the chest look sort of like a bikini top. It went to my knees, but had an angled cut, making the very bottom end about halfway down my shin and the very top of the skirt start just above my knee. And, not to mention, was glittery.

I sighed and walked outside to show Kara. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "If your hair wasn't orange, it'd probably be okay."

I looked down for a second, but shrugged and walked back. This is about the fifteenth dress I've tried on. Ah, the perks of being a girl.

The red dress went down to my knees and was flowy, had spaghetti straps, and was glittery on my stomach and chest. It was simpler than the purple one.

I walked out again and stood in front of Kara. She looked up from her phone. "Whoa," she breathed.

"That's good, right?" I said.

"Dude," she blinked a few times and took a step back, "that's the one."

"Seriously?"

"It looks...amazing," she said and pointed to the mirror behind me.

I spun around and realized she was right. "It does look pretty good."

"It looks better than pretty good. It looks freakin' fantastic."

"You sure?"

"Yes! You have to get that one."

"You're sure?" I turned back around to face her."

She nods. "Absolutely."

I sighed and turned to walk back into the dressing room. "Okay."

After I changed, bought the dress, and left, Kara and I headed to the food court for some lunch. We got food and just as I sat down, my phone rang. "Hello?"

"Autumn?"

"Alex?" Kara looked up at me, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. I, uh, sort of have a question."

"Okay. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go bowling after the show today."

"Just me and you?" Kara smirked, but kept her eyebrow raised. I rolled my eyes at her.

"No. Um, Jack, Rian, Kara-" I looked up at her, my eyebrow raised, "-Zack, me and you if you decide to come."

"Yeah, I'll go."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Totally."

"Cool. I'll, um, tell everyone."

"I can tell Kara. She's right in front of me."

"Oh. Okay. See ya later then."

"Bye." I hung up and threw one of my French fries at Kara.

"What the hell was that for?" she said, throwing one back at me.

"We're going bowling after the show?"

"Oh. Yeah, I forgot to tell you." She shrugged.

"It's fine."

**Alex's POV**

"She's going," I said once I hung up my phone.

"Well, there you go," Rian said.

Now all I have to do is get her alone.

**Author's Note-**

**I'm trying to make my chapters longer. Can't you tell? So, I finally have a sort of idea of where I want this to go, but only because I got inspired by reading an actual book. Show of hands, who has Dirty Work? *Raises hand* I'll be honest, I just got it today and haven't listened to it yet. (That's now a lie) But anyways, I'll update soon. = D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: ...And We're Squeezing Them Into Our Cups...**

**Autumn's POV**

"So if I called you 'Fall', would that piss you off?"

"Clever, Gaskarth. Never heard that one before," I replied to Alex, rolling my eyes, but smiling at him.

"Sassy," Zack said. He was standing behind the bench Alex and I were sitting on at the bowling alley. Cosmic bowling!

I rolled my eyes again and this is when Jack came up and sat on my lap. He wrapped his arms around me and cuddled into me. "Uh, hey there. Comfy?"

"Mmhmm." He nodded and closed his eyes as his head went to my shoulder.

Alex pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. He smiled and said, "That's going online."

I narrowed my eyes for a second, but relaxed. I looked at Alex, then Zack. "Can you guys help?" I tried to shift a little. "Jack has a really bony butt."

Zack laughed, but Alex mumbled, "Tell me about it," making me give him a weird look. "Don't ask." He shook his head.

"I was afraid to," I replied. I started to tickle Jack so he kept flinching and eventually gave up.

"FINE. I'll get off you," he said and moved so he was sitting in between me and Alex.

"So my Mom tried to give me a sex talk before the show," I said after a moment of silence.

"Why? You're seventeen. You don't get it yet?" Zack asked.

I shrugged. "Apparently to her, I don't." I moved my bangs out of my eyes. "It was all because I came home late Thursday."

"Ah, so she thinks your dating Alex now?" Jack asked.

"I don't know if she still does, but she did at first." I looked around Jack at Alex. "Sorry."

Alex shrugged. "Honestly, that's not the first time that's happened."

"Oh, that's nice." Please take note of my sarcasm.

"Hey, Autumn?" I looked over at Kara, who was sitting with Rian on a bench in front of us.

"Yeah, what's up?" I said.

"It's your turn."

"Oh. Shit, okay." I got up and walked up to the lane, grabbing a ball on the way. It wasn't until I was at the lane that I noticed Alex followed me. "Creeper," I said. He held his hands up in defense and I rolled the ball, getting a perfect gutter shot. "Ugh," I put my face in my hands, but turned and looked at him. "I fail at this."

"No, you don't." He grabbed a ball, then turned back to me. "Here." I took it from him and faced the lane. Then, I felt his arms go around me from behind.

So, you know that cliché thing in movies when the guy teaches the girl how to play the sport? That's what Alex was doing.

I felt myself get goose bumps on my arms and his breath on my neck made me want to kiss him, I'll admit. My heart started beating faster and all I wanted was for him to kiss me all over. Ah, fuck.

He made me walk forward and kept his arm with mine, his hand on my wrist, as I threw the ball out. It got a strike.

"Wow," I said as Alex stepped back, more than just because we got a strike. I turned to face him and smiled. "Thanks."

He smiled and nodded. "You're welcome."

It was Alex's turn after me, so I walked back to the bench, grabbing Kara's arm and pulling her to the bathroom with me. As soon as I walked into the bathroom door, I dropped Kara's arm and checked to make sure no one else was in the bathroom. It was all clear, so I turned to her and she said, "What the fuck was that?"

**Alex's POV**

"Dude, you are so lucky Zack was in the bathroom," Jack said as I sat next to him.

"Why else do you think I did that?" I said.

Rian, who was sitting on the other side of Jack, looked over his shoulder and then back at us. "What do girls do in the bathroom that requires them to go together?"

Jack and I shrugged. "Knowing Autumn, she's probably talking to Kara about what you did," Jack said, seeming only half interested since he was wiping his eye.

"You guys know each other too well," Rian said.

"My bad. I'll try not to be friends with her," he said, sarcastically, as he got up. It's been his turn for about ten minutes.

"Hey," Zack came up and sat next to me. He looked around a second, but looked back at me and said, "Where's Autumn and Kara?"

"Bathroom," Rian answered. Zack gave Rian a weird look, but shook his head and we watched Jack make a fool of himself. He's not the best bowler.

**Autumn's POV**

"I don't know!" I threw my hands down at my sides, sighed, ran a hand threw my hair, and sat down on the sink that contained the counter. "Kara, I'm fucked."

"So you like Alex?" she asked, moving so she was standing next to me.

"Yes," I admitted.

"What about Zack?"

"I like him, too." I put my face in my hands. "What am I going to do?" I looked up as I finished.

"Go to the dance with Zack, have a great time, and not let Alex 'show you how to bowl' again." She put air quotes around, 'show you how to bowl'.

I waited a second before saying, "Kara, I wanted to kiss him so bad."

She shrugged. "I, honestly, don't know what to tell you." She hugged me.

I hugged her back. "I'm going with Zack," I decided. She nods, pulls back, and we both walk out of the bathroom.

Kara and I went to the concession stand because she was hungry and I wanted a Red Bull. I got mine drink and Kara got her food, so we walked back and it was Kara's turn. I sat next to Zack. "Hey." I smiled.

"Hey." He smiled, too. "Where'd you go?"

"Bathroom."

"Oh. Cool."

We kinda just got to know each other for a while and bowled when it was our turn. By then end of the night, Rian and Alex tied for first and Jack was last with me second to last.

"If it wasn't for Alex, I would've beat you," Jack said, pouting at me. He, Rian, and Alex were back at my house. Kara had to go home and so did Zack, but not before he kissed me first. Alex was currently in the bathroom.

"Hey, it's not like I asked him to help me," I said, collapsing between him and Rian on my couch, a bowl of popcorn in my hand that I handed to Rian.

"It's not like you didn't want him to help you, either," Rian said, tossing a piece of popcorn in his mouth.

"I didn't. He just kind of did," I said. Rian rolled his eyes. He saw right through me.

"Sure, Autumn. Sure."

_**The Next Day**_

So, Alex, Jack, and Rian dragged me to the mall. I dragged them to Hot Topic, where we ended up not buying anything, but then Jack was complaining about being hungry. This was when we decided to go to the food court.

"Rian, I'm gonna jump on your back," I said.

"Wh-" he started, but it was cut off because I jumped on his back and he caught my thighs so I wouldn't fall. "That's okay, I guess. But why me?"

"Because Jack's so lanky, I didn't think he could hold me up, and, nothing personal or anything, but I just don't trust you yet, Alex." That was a lie, though. I just didn't want people to think I like him. Shh...

"Not nice, Autumn," Jack said at the same time Alex said, "That's completely personal."

I half smiled at both of them since they were standing next to each other and shrugged. "Sorry."

"Autumn, you're slipping," Rian said.

"Fine." Rian dropped me to the ground, but I landed on my feet. I started walking in between him and Jack.

"Hey, Autumn..." I looked at Alex to see him grinning like he was up to something.

"I don't like where this is going," I said, shaking my head.

"Did you want to go to Victoria's Secret?"

I blinked at him a few times before saying, "Why? Wanna get some sexy underwear for yourself, Alex?" I smirked. Jack and Rian laughed, but Alex just shook his head.

"Didn't you buy a dress yesterday?" Rian asked.

I looked at him, kind of uneasy. "Maybe. Why?"

"We wanna see it!" Jack said. "So we should go to the store you went to and you should try it on again and then show us."

I shook my head. "You can wait."

"But we don't want to," Alex threw in.

"Kara took a picture. Bug her," I said, which wasn't a lie. She took a picture after we got back from the mall at my house.

"It's not the same, Autumn," Rian said.

I sighed. "Fine."

"Really?" Jack asked.

I nodded. "But I want food first. And you can't take pictures."

"Don't want us to show Zack?" Rian teases.

I slapped his arm lightly, but said, "Yes."

"We'll keep it a secret, Autumn," Jack said, placing an arm around my shoulders.

"You better," I mumbled.

About an hour later I was walking through the dress department in JC Penny's. Alex, Jack, and Rian, were following me and you could tell they felt awkward. Hell, I felt awkward myself. I'm not girlie. But they wanted to see it and, I'll be honest, I kinda wanted to show them.

I walked over to the right dress, pulled one off the rack that was my size and looked up at the guys. "Don't do anything stupid." With that, I turned around and walked into the dressing rooms.

**Alex's POV**

"What could we do that's stupid in a dress department at a JC Penny's?" I asked Jack and Rian as Autumn walked off.

"I kinda wanted to try one on..." Jack said, playing with a hanger. Rian and I both raised an eyebrow at him. "What? I'm curious. Leave me alone!"

"Hey, I mean, if you want to try one on, we won't stop you, but I'm not helping you," Rian said.

"Neither am I. Mainly because I know nothing about dresses," I said.

"Fine. I won't try one on," Jack said, defeated. I shook my head at him and this is when Autumn came back.

"Whoa," I said. I couldn't keep my eyes from widening.

"Damn, Autumn," Jack said.

"Jeez," Rian said.

"That's good, right?" she said, looking slightly worried. All three of us nodded.

"You have boobs!" Jack said.

"Hey, eyes up here, asshole," she said and moved his chin up with her hand.

"Sorry, but you always cover them with t-shirts!"

"Jack, stop!" she said, but blushed. "I'm a girl. I have boobs, okay?"

Rian was laughing. "Jack, you're such a creep."

But Jack was right.

"Hey, I'm a guy. It's part of my nature," Jack defended.

Autumn glanced at me and I looked down since I was still staring at her. I felt a slight blush creep on my face and I heard her giggle and I knew it was at me. I looked back up to her slowly walking backwards towards the dressing rooms again and I chuckled.

What is she doing to me?


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: ...And drinking it up.**

**Autumn's POV**

"Dude, come on." I grabbed Alex's arm and ran across the hall, hiding behind a vending machine.

"What did you do, Autumn?" he asked with a slight smile, looking around the vending machine.

"I was hacking the vending machine by the main entrance," which was about two halls away, "and one of the vice principals saw me."

"Which one?"

I pulled on the sleeve of his plain white shirt so he'd stop looking around the vending machine and face me. "I don't know his name. The bald one?"

"Mr. Cress," he says before glancing back around the vending machine, then grabbing my wrist. "Come on!" he whisper/yelled and pulled me down the remainder of the hallway, then around a corner.

"Why did you come with me, anyways?"

"I was gypping and saw you hiding, so I just decided to come with you." He pauses to glance around the corner. "This, by far, beats walking around the school for an hour." He looks around me at the hallway before looking back at me. "Damn, if your hair wasn't orange..." Alex picked up a few strands of my hair and twirls it in his fingers.

"I know. It'd be easier for me to hide from them, which is why I have my hood up." I pointed to the hood of my black hoodie that I made sure to keep up before looking around Alex and around the corner. I gasped slightly and grabbed Alex's wrist. "Come on." I pulled him down the hallway and then around another corner. "You know, you don't have to stay here with me."

While looking around the corner, he whispers, "I know. But if I don't, he'll ask me if I've seen you or what I'm doing and I'm not exactly the best liar." I see his eyes widen and he says, "Shit!" then grabs my hand and pulls me down the hallway a little more, stopping where the walls cave in where two lockers used to be. There's a locker behind him and a wall behind me, making us pretty close, but not, like, touching.

Alex smirks and snickers a little at me. I roll my eyes, but smile and say, "What?"

He shakes his head, but smiles. "Nothing. I just thought of something inappropriate."

"Perv," I mutter and look behind me around the corner. "Shit. We don't have enough time to make a run for it."

Alex slightly glances around me and his eyes widen. I hear someone talk over the walkie talkie the principals carry around. Alex whispers, "He turned around. Let's go," and grabs my wrist, pulling me down the remainder of the hallway and around another corner as quietly as we could. "What are you gonna do if they saw you?"

"Lie my ass off," I said, simply, looking around the corner. "He's coming." I took Alex's hand and he pulled down the hallway and all the way down G hall until we got to J hall.

Alex points a finger at me, and in an 'I will punish you' voice said, "No more hacking vending machines."

I rolled my eyes, glanced around the corner, then looked back at him and reached into my hoodie pocket. "So, you don't want these Skittles?" I pulled the candy out and held it up, a smirk on my face.

Alex looked at the candy, clearly considering this. "Fine." He grabbed the Skittles and stuffed them in his backpack. "But this is a one time thing."

I walked around him, but started walking backwards. "That you'll know of." I smirked.

He started to follow me, facing me. "Autumn, you are not a good kid."

"Shhh." I put a finger to my lips. "Yes, I am."

He rolled his eyes as I turned around and slung an arm around my shoulders. "So, I got a question." We walked outside.

"And what's your question?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Your place or mine?"

"It's that supposed to be some cheesy pick up line?"

Alex rolled his eyes, but laid his head on top of mine. "Yes, Autumn. Please have sex with me?"

I pushed him away, but smiled. "Creep."

"I was kidding!"

"I know that," I laughed. "So what did you really mean?"

"Where are we working on our history project tonight?"

I shrugged. "My place? We've already been to your's."

Alex nodded. "Sounds cool."

_**After School**_

"Mom, I'm home," I called out after walking in the door. Alex shut the door behind me. "Mom?" I threw my backpack down by the door and so did Alex. "Mother?" I called out in a sing-song voice and walked into the kitchen, where I found a note on the counter. I read over it and looked at Alex and shrugged. "We're home alone."

He gets a look in his eyes that I can't quite place, but shrugs and smiles. "Cool."

I picked up the forty bucks my mom left on the counter. "Pizza?"

"Definitely."

**Alex's POV**

To say Autumn and I didn't work on our project was an understatement. We completely goofed off and got nothing done today, whatsoever. But I wasn't complaining.

So now we were outside and I was messing around with her skateboard. "Hey, Alex?" Autumn said. I turned around and looked up to see her hiding behind the corner of her house.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. She was clearly hiding something by the smirk on her face.

"Oh...nothing," she replies.

"Nothing, my butt."

"What'd you say about your butt?" She cocks her head to the side, but laughs.

I shake my head, but laugh a little. "Never mind."

"You sure?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"So secretive," she mumbled. "But can you come here for a second?"

"What do you need?" I asked. It wasn't until I was right in front of her that she answered. Autumn was holding something behind her back.

"Is this cold?" she asked.

"Is what co-" But that was when she turned on the garden hose and sprayed me with water. I put my hands up because for some reason I thought that would block the water, but she stopped after a few seconds.

Autumn laughed at my stunned expression, then smirked at me, telling me she wanted a challenge. I looked down, but quickly grabbed the hose from her and sprayed her. "That's what you get for getting me wet."

She tried to grab the hose, but I pulled on it. She didn't let go, though, so now we were nose to nose and our bodies were touching. I started to lean in, but composed myself when she smiled at me and whispered, "That's what she said," before pulling the hose from my hand and spraying me again.

"Seriously, Autumn? I'm wearing white," I said through water.

She stopped spraying me long enough to say, "What? Are you afraid your boobs are going to show?"

"Absolutely." I quickly grabbed the hose from her and sprayed her.

"Gimme that!" she said as she wrapped her arms around my waist from the side to try to get the hose.

"No!" I said, ignoring the way her touch made me feel. Autumn laughed and finally grabbed the hose, making it face upward so it drenched both of us. Both of us were laughing as I held out my hand and offered, "Truce?"

"Truce." She nodded, shook my hand, and turned off the water. I then noticed her hair was soaking wet and swept out of her face, her shirt was wrinkled because it was drenched, her brown eyes sparkled, and I couldn't help but think she looked gorgeous.

Autumn caught me staring at her and shifted uncomfortably. She looked me up and down and laughed. "You're a mess."

"So are you!" I said, then pointed to her pants. "Good luck getting those skinny jeans off. Of course, if you want help, I could help you."

Autumn rolls her eyes and playfully pushes me. She sighs and says, "It's next to impossible to get them off when they're soaked."

"How would you know?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Well, you see, what had happened was," she took my hand and dragged me through the gate and into her backyard, "Jack and," she points to a swimming pool, "that."

"You have a swimming pool," I shifted my gaze from the pool to her, ignoring how good her hand felt in mine, "in your backyard?"

Autumn nodded. "Yeah."

Then I understood, so I nodded. "Jack pushed you in?"

She looked up at me. "How'd you guess?"

I shrugged. "It was predictable. So, let me get this right. He picked you up," I picked Autumn up bridal style, "then threw you in the pool?"

"Alex, if you throw me in the pool, I will hurt you. I mean, I know it's heated, but it's still gonna be cold," she said, getting a look of fear in her eyes. I acted like I was going to drop her in the pool, which only makes her squeal and tighten her arms that were wrapped around my neck.

But after a few seconds, I did throw her in the pool. She came up after a few seconds and I smirked at her. "Oh, it's on now." She splashed me, then jumped out of the pool and pushed me in.

I came up a few seconds later and glared at her. She crossed her arms and smiled at me. "It's not as cold as you said it was going to be," I said.

Autumn jumped in, then came above water shortly after. "Sorry," she said simply, and shrugged.

We swam around, had a splash fight, she dunked me, I dunked her, we had another splash fight and then Jack came over. We didn't know until he jumped into the pool, though.

"What the fuck!" Autumn yelled and hid behind me. I fought a shiver when I felt her hand on my shoulder.

Jack came above water and he wiped his eyes. "Two questions: Are you fully clothed? And what happened?"

I answered the first one. "Yes."

Autumn shrugged. "Wet t-shirt contest."

"That led to a creative discussion," I added.

"One problem with the wet t-shirt contest," Jack said.

"What? That you weren't a contestant?" Autumn said, swimming around me and over next to Jack.

"No, that your shirt is black," he said, swimming closer to her.

"I wish it was white." I smirked at her.

"I do, too," Jack said with a laugh and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm in a pool with two guys and they are both hitting on me," she said bluntly. "I feel like I'm gonna get raped." She swam away from Jack, then jumped out of the pool, but left her legs hanging over the edge. "Nothing personal."

"That's completely personal," I said as I swam over to her, then jumped out myself and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry," she said and laid her head on my shoulder.

"It's cool," I said, ignoring the butterflies I got in my stomach.

Jack jumped out of the pool and sat on the other side of Autumn. "This was a bad idea."

"No, it wasn't. It was a perfect idea," Autumn said and lifted her head. I frowned a little.

"Easy for you to say. This is your house. You can change here."

"So, I'll change and then drive you home so you can change?" she suggested. I shrugged and looked at Jack who nodded.

So a few minutes later I was sitting in Autumn's room, she was in the bathroom across the hall from her room changing, and Jack was raiding the fridge downstairs. My shoes were totally soaked so I was taking them off, but when I looked up I saw something I knew I shouldn't be seeing because you could see the bathroom from where I was.

"Whoa," I mumbled, eyes wide. Autumn didn't shut the bathroom door all the way so it was cracked, but I could see she was taking off her clothes. I knew I should look away, but I didn't. Autumn was basically stripping and I was watching. God, the things I could do to that body.

Fuck, I'm such a creep.

I kept staring at her, (pretty sure I might have been drooling) until she was fully clothed, then looked down at the floor when she came out of the bathroom. "Where's Jack?" she asked, and sat next to me on her bed.

"Right here," he said, walking into her room. I felt a little relieved when I didn't have to answer.

Well, I've gotten myself into some shit, now haven't I?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: "Just Friends"**

**Autumn's POV**

I sat in my car in Jack's driveway, waiting on him. I look over at Alex, who was sitting next to me and he was looking out the window. He hasn't said one thing to me since we left my house, nor has he looked at me.

"Alex, are you okay?" I said.

He nods, but keeps looking out the window. "Yeah. I'm fine," he says like he's, well...fine.

"So, why won't look at me, then?" I asked, getting strait to the point.

"I was just enjoying this beautiful Baltimore scenery," he says, chuckling lightly, but he does turn to me as he finishes.

I laughed. "You're ridiculous."

"I know," he sighed, but smiled.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I dug it out to see I had a text from Jack. Raising an eyebrow, I open it.

_"Hey, my mom wants me to do some stuff here, so I can't go back to your house. Sorry : ("_

"Looks like we're alone again," I said, showing Alex my phone.

Alex looks up at me with a glint of something in his eyes that I can't read. He shrugs. "That's okay."

I text Jack back, _"Okay. See you tomorrow : )," _before closing my phone and setting it in the cup holder.

As I backed out of the driveway and drove down the street, I felt Alex's gave on me. I shifted uncomfortably a little and glanced at him. "What?"

He shakes his head and looks forward. "Nothing." I stop at a red light and he looks at me again. "You're really pretty, you know that?"

I'm kind of shocked by this, so my eyes dart around the car for a few seconds. "Thanks," I smile at him a little and felt a blush come to my face as I looked forward again. Why did he just say that out of nowhere?

**Alex's POV**

Autumn pulled into her driveway, grabbed her phone and keys and then got out. I followed her inside to see we were still home alone. "Do you really want to work on the project?" she asked me as she sat down on her couch.

I shook my head. "Not really." I sat next to her and she turned on the TV. "We could watch a movie again," I suggested.

"We're watching Lilo And Stitch," she said.

I chuckled. "That's fine."

Autumn walked over to a cabinet, pulled a DVD out, then walked over to the DVD player and put it in. She walked back over to me, put the TV on the right setting, and threw the remote down on the couch. "Want popcorn?"

I shrugged and smiled. "Sure."

"Okay." The menu screen came up just as she came back. Autumn set the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table in front of us as she sat next to me and hit play.

About halfway through the movie, Autumn got up and said, "I'll be right back," before disappearing down the hallway.

"Do you want me to pause it?" I called after her.

"No, it's fine!" she calls back, but appears a half a second later with a blanket in her hands. "I'm kind of cold," she said, sitting next to me and throwing the blanket over her.

"Come here," I said and wrapped my arms around her. She scooted closer to me and put the blanket over both of us, laying her head on my shoulder.

We stayed like that until the end of the movie, which ended about nine. I had to go home so we were now at her front door. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she smiles and nods.

"No more getting in trouble," I said.

She rolls her eyes, but smiles. "I didn't get in trouble."

"Yeah, because we ran away from the vice principal."

"And then left school."

We both laughed. "It was still fun," I said.

"Definitely beat walking around school for a class period?" she asked.

I nod. "Yes. Of course." It was silent for a few seconds, but I said, "So I'm gonna go."

She nods and looks up at me. I pull her into a hug, but pull back slightly and kiss her cheek. My arms were still around her and her arms were still around me. We looked into each other's eyes a moment and I felt myself leaning in and then my lips on hers.

To my surprise, she kisses back and her arms move so they wind around my neck. The kiss was sweet and innocent at first, but it got more and more rough and passionate.

I felt Autumn's tongue slide into my mouth and I backed her into a wall. My mind was filled with images of her taking my clothes off, me taking off hers and kissing her body all over. One of her hands went into my hair and mine were gripping her waist tightly.

I pulled back first and we were both breathing heavy. "We shouldn't do this," I said.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Because you have Zack."

"Yeah."

"It's wrong."

"Yeah."

"I don't want to be right."

"Neither do I."

"I don't want to stop this." I rested my forehead against hers and looked directly into her eyes.

"Neither do I." Autumn kisses me again and I kiss her back just as hard. My hands go up her shirt and to her mid back. Her skin was hot on my hands and I pulled away and started kissing her neck, but it all stops when we hear a door open and close.

"Autumn?" a female voice calls out.

I look at Autumn questioningly and she whispers, "My mom. She must have came in through the garage door."

"Autumn, are you here?" her mom calls out.

I step back from Autumn as she says, "Yeah, I'm in the living room."

A dark haired woman comes around the corner saying, "Did you eat? I'm sorry I had to- Oh, hello," she says once she sees me and smiles.

"Uh, Mom? This is Alex. Remember, I told you I had to work on a project with him?" Autumn explains.

Yeah. "Project". If our lips are a project, then sure.

"Oh. Nice to meet you. I'm Autumn's mom, Lauren." She holds out her hand for me to shake. I notice she looks a lot like Autumn.

"Nice to meet you." I shake her hand. "I was just going, though. I'll see you tomorrow, Autumn?" I turn to her.

She nods. "Yeah."

"Bye," I say as I open the front door.

"Bye," Autumn says as I walk out.

Well, that was...eventful.

**The Next Day**

I was called into the principal's office this morning during third period. As I opened the door, I saw Autumn sitting on the couch in front of his desk with her arms crossed. I looked from her to the vice principal, Mr. Cress, and sat down next to Autumn.

"Alright, Alex," he folds his hands together and rests them on the desk in front of him, "Autumn's already cracked, so I know you two gypped yesterday. Don't try to deny it." He pauses and pulls out a yellow pad of paper and a pen, then begins to write something down. "Detention. For the rest of the week." We both take a yellow detention slip from him and stand up. "I appreciate the honesty, which is why it's not longer," he finishes as we walk out.

"Thanks, Mr. Cress," Autumn says and shuts the door behind her. She turns to me. "I am so sorry."

I shrug. "It's no big deal." We start walking together and I want to ask her what that kiss meant yesterday.

"Alex?" Autumn says, her voice small.

"Yeah?" I look down at her.

"What did that kiss mean yesterday?"

Wow, mind reader, much? I shrugged again. "What do you think it means?"

She's clearly considering this, so I wait for her to answer. "I don't know." I look at her and can tell she's telling the truth. "But I don't want it to stop," she mumbles. I don't think I was supposed to hear it, but I did, so that's all that matters to me.

"Neither do I. I was serious when I said that," I said.

Autumn looks up at me. "So...are we sneaking around?"

_So she doesn't want to break it off with Zack_, I thought. This could be hot. "If that's the way you want it."

"Only if you agree to it."

I nod. "I'm in." So I grabbed her hand and pulled her down a hallway.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"This class period is over in five minutes," I said. I opened a door and pulled her into the boiler room, checking to make sure none of the janitors were in here. "I'm not going back and lunch is next." I push her against the back of the door and press my body against hers. She looks up at me, kind of taken aback. "I don't know what you thought about me, but kissing you yesterday was fucking awesome because of your tongue piercing."

Autumn smirks at me and presses her lips to mine, pushing her tongue into my mouth. Her arms went around my neck and my hands went in her shirt. I pulled away and started to kiss her neck, getting a soft moan from her. I move my lips back to hers and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her tighter against me.

This is something I may just get used to.

**Five Minutes Before Lunch Is Over...**

No, we didn't have sex in the boiler room, so don't get that idea. Just a lot of kissing.

We were currently eating lunch in the cafeteria. I was sitting across from her at a deserted table in a corner of the cafeteria.

"So we're not dating?" I asked.

"No," she said.

"Just friends?"

"Just friends."

"With benefits?"

"Yup."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"And no one would know, but us?"

"Exactly."

I considered this for a good two minutes before giving her my answer. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

**I have major plans for this. : )**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Tonight Will Be The One To Set It Off**

**Autumn's POV**

_**Homecoming**_

"Autumn!"

"I'm coming, Mom! Tell Zack to hang on!"

"It's not just Zack, but okay!"

Fuck. I wasn't even dressed yet. I'm digging around the bottom of my closet, trying to find my other black heel. Oh, did I mention I'm just in my bra and underwear?"

"God dammit," I whispered, coming up short again. I turn around, got on all fours, and started looking under my bed.

I guess I should catch you up on the last week and half. One thing, Alex and I haven't even kissed since that Monday at school. We've just kinda hung out as friends, but never alone. And I've spent a lot of time with Zack. We're still not officially dating, though.

"Autumn!" I heard Jack yell, and it sounded like he was close.

"Fuck," I whispered before calling out, "Hang on!" Times like these I wish I had a lock on my bedroom door.

"Autumn, open up before I do!" Jack yelled, banging on my door.

"Jack, I really can't yet," I said, moving another box and retrieving my shoe. "Finally," I whispered, pulling it out from under my bed.

"Why not?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes, please."

"I'm pretty much naked," I said, bluntly.

"That only makes me wanna open the door more."

"You open that door, I'm kicking your ass. That simple."

"You got ten minutes."

"Deal."

I stepped into my dress, pulling it up and putting the straps on my shoulders, then finally zipping it up. Thank God I could do it myself. I slid on my heels and ran a comb through my hair that was strait, but had some pieces curled and make-up to match. I was smart to do that first.

Guys really have no idea the things girls go through to look pretty.

With one last look in the mirror, I opened the door, eight minutes after Jack told me I had ten. He and Zack were leaning against the walls of the hallway by my room, opposite of each other.

They both look at me. Zack's eyes widened and Jack's jaw dropped. Jack cocked his head to the side and said, "Can I say something? Just as friends."

"Well, I'm friends with you, so, yeah," I replied.

"You look hot!" he said and hugged me.

I laughed, but felt myself blush a little as I hugged him back. "Thanks, Jack. You look pretty snazzy yourself."

He lets go and steps back. "Snazzy?"

Zack laughs as I nod and said, "Snazzy."

Jack's considers this. "I'll accept that. Now, I'm gonna go bug your mother and tell her to get the camera ready." He starts walking to the stairs.

"Jack, why the camera?"

"It's tradition!" He turned around and threw his hands down at his sides, but turns and runs down the stairs.

I shake my head, but smile at Zack. He smiles and hugs me. "You look gorgeous."

I felt myself blush, but said as I hugged him back, "Thanks. You look very gorgeous, too."

"Why, thank you." He steps back and takes my hand, leading me down the hallway and down the stairs.

We took pictures and then left in my car. It was actually working tonight, surprisingly. About ten minutes later, we were at the school. The homecoming was really cliché. Streamers, pop and rap music, the works.

Zack walked me over to Rian, who was talking to Kara. "Hey." She smiled at us, then said, "Well, don't you look good."

"Oh, and you don't?" I asked, but smiled. "Thanks, Kara."

"Yeah, you, too."

"Have you seen Alex?" Rian asked.

I shook my head and Zack tugged on my hand as a slow song came on, leading me to the middle of the gym. I put my arms around his neck and he put his around my waist as we started to sway to the music.

"Zack dances?" I asked, sarcastically.

He smiles down at me and shrugs. "I do occasionally." I smirked and rested my head on his shoulder and he rested his on top of mine.

We danced, hung out, watched the 'popular' people get crowned king and queen and then Alex showed up after about thirty minutes.

Zack and I were talking away from everyone for a minute. He looked over his shoulder at Jack, who was just leaning against the wall a few yards away. He looked back at me and says, "I kinda feel bad for him."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I said, "Why?"

Zack shrugs. "He doesn't have a date."

I look at Jack and thought a second. "I'll be right back." I walk over to Jack, taking his hand. He looks up at me, question in his eyes. I smile and tug on his hand slightly. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" he asks, as I walk with him to the middle of the gym.

"I'm going to dance with you."

"Why?"

"Because you have no date." Jack smiles at me and we started dancing together.

After about the third song. Alex came up and said the cliché thing, "Can I cut in?"

Jack looked at me and I shrugged. He said, "Okay," and walked away.

Of course, as soon as Jack walked away, a slow song came on. Alex smirked and put his arms around my waist. I rolled my eyes, but smiled and put my arms around his neck. "Hey, Autumn," he said.

"Hi, Alex," I replied.

**Alex's POV**

I pulled Autumn out of the gym and down a deserted hallway. "Alex, what are we doing?" she asked.

"Oh, you know." I pressed my lips to hers.

She pulls back and shakes her head. "Alex, I don't know."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

Autumn looks up at me and sighs. "I'm sorry, Alex. But I don't want to do this anymore."

"Oh," is all I said, but I was thinking, _What the fuck? This was her idea_. I nodded.

She leans up and pecks my lips before walking down the hallway and back to the gym. I know it's because of Zack, and I guess that's okay.

But, damn, I'm gonna miss that.

**Autumn's POV**

_**After The Dance**_

We all went to our own house and my parents went out of town tonight, so I'm home alone. I changed into shorts and a tank top and headed down the stairs. I had just sat down and turned on the TV, when there was a knock on the door.

It was midnight, so I was a little freaked out. I grabbed my phone and a baseball bat out of the hall closet before opening the door, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw Alex.

He raises an eyebrow. "A baseball bat?"

"It's not everyday I'm home alone and there's a knock on the door at midnight." I set the bat up against the wall by the door and let him in and shut the door. He was still in formal clothes. "Why are you here?"

"Because..." He walks into my living room and sits on my couch. I follow after him, but stand next to the couch. "Just tell me one thing." Alex looked up at me and I nodded. "Do you like me as more than a friend? And be honest because I like you a whole lot more than I should."

I sit next to him and take this in. Damn. After a second I say, "Honestly?"

"Yes."

"Yeah. I do."

"So, why do you want to stop this?" Alex turns to face me.

"Because of Zack," I replied.

"But are you guys, like, official?"

I shake my head. "No." I quickly add, "But that doesn't mean we never will be."

"I never said that you wouldn't."

"Then, what are you saying?" I cut him off before he could say anything else.

"I'm saying that this doesn't have to end if you don't want it to and I know you don't want it to."

He read me like a book. "I'm not a cheater."

"It's not cheating if you're not exclusive."

"Yeah, technically, but it still is."

"So, look at it technically." He pauses. "Look, we're not exclusive and neither are you and Zack. If you and Zack do decide to make it official, we'll stop."

I looked up at him and said something I knew I would soon regret. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah." I nodded. It's silent for a moment, but kissing Alex sent chills through me that I loved. So I took his face in my hands and pulled him close, kissing him.

He started pushing and had me on my back. All I could think about was him and, honestly, how much I wanted him. He slid his tongue into my mouth and one of my hands tangled in his hair. We were both kissing each other with so much passion.

Alex pulled back and looked at me. "So, you're home alone?"

I nod and he puts his forehead against mine. "For two weeks."

"We really shouldn't be doing this."

"I don't care." I kissed him again.

Maybe we shouldn't be alone together...


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Weekend: Friday**

**Autumn's POV**

_**The Following Friday**_

I was at my locker when someone put their arms around me from behind. Not really sure who to expect, I looked over my shoulder and was surprised to see Zack.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, as I turned around to put my arms around his neck.

He chuckles and steps back, taking my hand in his. "I'm taking you out to lunch."

"You're awesome." I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, but one thing." Zack got a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Sneaking in was easy because Jack helped me. It's sneaking out I don't know how to do." He smiles, shyly.

"Easy. We go out to the courtyard and since that's off the parking lot, it won't be hard to just walk out."

He eyed me a second with a smirk. "Have you done this before?"

"Maybe once or twice," I pause and smile, "or seven."

"Seven?" Zack's eyes widen a little.

I nod. "Just this year."

"Dude."

"Yeah, I know." I shut my locker and we start walking to the courtyard doors hand in hand.

"But if you're a junior, can't you leave for lunch?"

"Not when you get as many detentions as I do."

"And here I was thinking you were a good kid."

We both laughed a little and I said, "I'm not that bad of a kid."

"You're not that good of a kid, either."

I simply shrugged. "You only live once."

"That you do."

We walked in silence for a while, seeing Kara and Rian walking into the cafeteria and waving at them. Once we got almost to the courtyard, we saw Alex. Zack waved, but looked around for a second, making Alex smirk and wink at me. I rolled my eyes, but smiled and then pulled Zack out of the courtyard doors.

"Okay," I turned to him, "it's not that hard at all."

"What do I gotta do?" he asked, a small smile at me.

"Honestly? You just have to walk over to the parking lot." I pointed behind me at the pillars that, other than a short field, were the only thing separating teenagers and the parking lot.

And they wonder why we can sneak out of school grounds.

"Just don't draw attention to yourself," I added. Zack raised an eyebrow at me. "I know, I have orange hair so it's not exactly hard to draw attention myself. But the teachers won't pay attention, trust me."

"Okay, I do."

Fuck. Why am I doing this to him? He's such a nice guy. And now he's saying he trusts me. I looked up into his eyes and smiled. The thing is, I don't think about Alex when I'm with Zack. And I don't think about Zack when I'm with Alex. I can't keep doing this...whatever this is with Alex. All it'll do is hurt Zack, and I can't do that.

"So, come on," I said. He smiled at me as we started walking through the courtyard and over to the pillars. "We'll have to run to the parking lot to avoid the teachers from seeing. That cool?" Zack smiles again and nods. I checked to make sure the teachers weren't watching, then ran with Zack across the field, stopping when we hit asphalt.

"So, where do you wanna go?" he asks.

I shrug and smile at him as he starts leading me to his car. "Wherever. I'll eat anything."

"Alright." Zack smirks and puts his arm around my shoulders. I reached up and laced that hand with my own.

**Alex's POV**

I was currently sitting in history next to Autumn. We had a substitute and the assignment was easy, so the whole class got done pretty quickly. We have about an hour of class left.

I looked over at Autumn, who was doodling in her notebook. I was going to say something, but I saw she had a blue ear bud hidden behind her hair, so I tapped her shoulder.

She looks up and pulls an ear bud out, letting it hang over the collar of her shirt. "Are you okay?" I asked. "You seem kinda zoned out."

Autumn shrugs and looks down at her notebook, shading something in on her picture with a pencil. "I'm just thinking."

"Oh," is all I said, then took out my notebook, starting to doodle myself. "Hey," I looked over at Autumn again and she looks up, "wanna come to band practice?"

"Umm," she looks down and I can tell she's thinking, but looks back up and smiles, "yeah, sure."

I smile. "Cool."

This creates an awkward silence I would love to fill, but I have absolutely no idea what to say. So, kind of just trying to start a conversation, (and because I'm just too fucking curious) I said, "Wanna play twenty questions?"

Autumn's clearly considering this. She smiles and shakes her head. "I know I'm gonna regret this," she looks at me, "but sure."

"You first."

"No, you."

"Okay..." I paused and turned slightly in my seat so I was kinda sorta facing her. I couldn't turn the whole way because of the metal bar connecting the seat and the desk. "How long was your longest relationship?"

She turns so she's facing me, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Almost six months."

"Why'd you break up?" I asked.

"He cheated on me. Jack and Rian know him pretty well."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They were the ones who hooked me up with him."

"Oh, nice." I smirked.

"Yeah, lovely."

I asked her questions like, favorite band, color, food, etc... Then I got personal.

"When was your first kiss?" I asked.

"I was twelve," she replied.

"No tongue piercing?" I asked with a grin.

She chuckles and shakes her head. "No tongue piercing. That was last year."

I laughed a little. "Alright then. So..." I smirked. This was the twentieth question. "Are you a virgin?"

Autumn looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "The truth?" I nod and she shakes her head. "No."

"Really?" I wasn't as surprised as I sounded.

"Yup." she nods and starts spinning the pencil she had in her hand between her fingers. We both stare at it a moment, but she asks, "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"A virgin."

"Oh." I shook my head, smirking. "No."

**Autumn's POV**

_Oh, shit_, I thought. _So we're both not virgins_.

This is going to become an issue...

I didn't really know what to say, so I picked up my notebook, resting it on my knees and started doodling again. My gaze glanced up and I saw Alex staring at the floor, biting his bottom lip.

"What're you thinking about?" I asked.

I must've snapped him out of his thoughts because he looked up and just shook his head. "Daydreaming."

"About...?"

Alex smirks and snickers. "Nothing."

I eyed him a second, but shrugged and went back to my doodling.

_**After Band Practice**_

It's maybe eight-thirty. Zack, Rian, Alex, and Jack were all back at my house, but Rian and Zack just left. But Zack said he's coming back in about an hour. Jack, being the klutz he is, split Pepsi all over himself, so he's taking a shower right now. This left Alex and I alone in my kitchen.

"Soo..." Alex said, a smirk plastered to his face.

"Yeah...?" I asked leaning up against one of the counters.

Alex moved so he was standing in front of me. "Jack's gonna be at least a half hour..." he trailed off.

"And...?" was my response to try to get more out of him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, quickly, and kissed me hard. I moaned into his mouth and my backside went up against the counter. His hands went to my hips and he picked me up, setting me on the counter.

As our lips moved together with growing amounts of passion, my tongue meant his, making him moan into my mouth. I slid off the counter and his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me tight against his body.

Alex pulled back, breathless, his forehead against mine, and my backside against the counter again. He smirked and kissed my nose, my cheek, and down to my neck.

I heard someone walking down the stairs and then it occurred to me the water wasn't running anymore. I pushed Alex away from me, moments before Jack walked in the kitchen, pulling a shirt over his head.

"Hey," Jack said, shaking his hair like a wet dog.

"Hey," Alex and I said together, trying to hide the fact we were breathing heavy.

"That was cool." Jack jumped up on the island, crossing his legs, and starting running a comb through his hair.

Alex looked at me with a grin on his face. I rolled my eyes, but smiled and walked into the living room, collapsing on the couch on my back and putting my hands over my face.

I'm conflicted.

I heard a knock on the door, so I got up and saw Zack on the other side of the door. Smiling slightly, and feeling a little relieved, I opened the door. "Hey," I said.

"Hey," he replied, smiling, stepping over the threshold and kissing my lips quickly. _Of course_.

Zack walked in and once I shut the door I heard a, "Hey, Zack," from behind. I looked up and saw Alex and Jack standing behind me, but Alex was the one that said it.

"Hey," Zack said, smiling again.

Jack walked into the living room, Zack followed. Alex winked at me as he walked past me. I chewed on my lip ring as I walked into the living room, sitting in between Jack and Zack.

Oh, yeah! By the way, I'm totally screwed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: You And I, We Do The Worst Things**

**Autumn's POV**

Opening my can of Dr. Pepper, I walked back into the living room to see Alex going through the guide on the TV and Zack and Jack playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. I sat on the opposite side of the couch Alex was on, because Jack and Zack had the loveseat.

"Why is there never anything on TV late at night?" Alex said, clearly frustrated as he settled on MTV's Next.

"Because it's Friday night. We're supposed to be out doing something," Zack said, getting up and sitting next to me.

Jack was pouting, so I looked at Zack. "Did you beat him?" I asked and Zack nodded, proudly.

"I like this, Autumn," Jack said. "When you're parents go out of town, we get to stay later." He smiled and sprawled out on the loveseat.

"Even though you and Zack have to leave in an hour?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't remind me." He pouts again.

"Is Alex gonna leave?" Zack asked.

I wish he will so I don't have to worry about making out with him again. Because, the odds of that happening if we're alone are very high. I can't just say no, because...well, that won't look good. And If I say yes, it won't look good either. And I can't blame it on my parents. God dammit.

Alex looked over at me and all I did was shrug. "I don't know," I said. "Do you want to?"

He shrugged. "I've got nothing else better to do."

_Nice cover_, I thought. I looked at Zack thinking that I could just kick Alex out after they left. I should be able to. But now I'm not so sure I can resist him. Especially if he kisses me. "Looks like it," I said.

"Cool. I don't want you to be alone," Zack said, putting an arm around my shoulders. Aw, he's worried. That's cute. I bit my lip and Alex got a look of amusement in his eyes, but he turned back to the TV. Oh, the irony.

We didn't do much for the next hour. It was about eleven when Zack and Jack left. I closed the door once they walked outside and sat back down on the opposite end of the couch again.

**Alex's POV**

Autumn and I sat in silence for a while, except the TV, but then she looked at me. "Would you care if I left you down here for about a half hour while I went and took a shower?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Alright." She got up, walked over the stairs, and started up them, saying, "I'll be back, then."

"Okay," I replied. But the only thing I could think about was when I saw her naked after we jumped in the pool a few weeks ago. And she still doesn't know about that. Aren't I creepy?

After a while, I walked upstairs to her room. I didn't hear the water running anymore and her bedroom door was cracked, like it always is. But she would probably close the door all the way if she was getting dressed, right?

"Hey, Autumn?" I said as I walked into her room, but stopped dead in my tracks at what I saw, feeling my eyes widen and my jaw drop slightly. "Whoa," I whispered.

Autumn gasped, then squealed as she ducked down on the other side of her bed. She stood back up, the towel that wasn't there a few seconds earlier now around her body. "What the fuck, dude?" she yelled.

"I-I just-" I shook my head and blinked a few times. But I couldn't shake that image. She was hot.

"Get out of here!" she said, throwing one of her pillows at me.

"I'm sorry!" I ducked, dodging the pillow. "I'll just-" I walked out of her room, closing the door behind me and leaned against the wall as I waited.

Oh. My. God.

My eyes were still the size of saucers. I just saw Autumn completely naked and not through a cracked door. And I still couldn't shake that image.

Half a minute later, she opened her bedroom door in shorts and a tank top. "Look, Autumn, I'm sorry-" I started.

"Just-" she cut off and shook her head. "I'll be back." Autumn walked down the hallway and down the stairs.

**Autumn's POV**

I need some water.

I got a cup out of the cabinet, filled it halfway, and chugged the water. Setting the cup down in the sink, I turned and walked back up the stairs. Dear, God. He saw me naked.

As I walked into my room, I saw Alex leaning against the wall. I just kinda stared at him a minute, him staring back at me. I shifted uncomfortably and he walked towards me, shutting my door, connecting our lips, and pushing me against the back of the door.

I gasped and was going to push him away, but I just sorta sunk into it. I kissed him and he kissed me, as hard as he ever has. He took a breath, so I slid my tongue in his mouth and he started to pull off my shirt.

Basically, we moved to my bed, clothes were shed, and I was currently on top of him and both of us were completely naked.

"We shouldn't be doing this," he said, kissing me.

I pulled back. "We're only doing this once."

"Only once?"

"Only once."

"Okay." He flipped us over.

_**The Next Day**_

**Alex's POV**

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I had actually slept with Autumn. And I couldn't even tell my best friends because no one could know, but us, and one of then was unofficially her boyfriend.

But I had to tell someone because, not only do I have mixed emotions for her, but I didn't know how much longer I could keep this a secret.

I rolled over on my bed so I was on my side and grabbed my phone. I texted Jack, telling him to come over, then rolled over on my back. He'd keep it a secret.

Twenty minutes later, Jack walked into my room, shutting the door behind him, and sat in my desk chair, resting his feet on my bed. "What's up, dude?"

"I slept with Autumn," I said, bluntly. Might as well cut to the chase.

It takes Jack a moment, but he says, "I'm sorry, what?"

I sat up on my bed, leaning my head against the head board so I was looking at the ceiling. "I slept with Autumn."

Jack blinks at me. "Care to explain?"

I told him about that Monday we went swimming. I told him about the whole friends with benefits thing. I told him about all the times we made out. I told him about walking in on her after she just got out of the shower. And, finally, I told him about sleeping with her.

"And she's still with Zack?" he asked.

I nodded, looking down at my bed. "Yeah. She is."

"And now you like her?"

"I liked her a long time ago. She told me she does, too." I looked up at him. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't." He pointed at me. "But you need to tell Zack. You need to stop this. Especially if she is happy with Zack."

I shook my head. "I can't tell Zack. He'll kill me."

"You need to at least stop this with Autumn."

I put my face in my hands. But it was so unbelievable. I don't want to end it.

**Autumn's POV**

One thing I realized? I like Alex more than I like Zack. But I think it might be just because we had sex. And the person I turn to first for problems like this? Jack, oddly enough.

I sat up on my couch, pulling my phone out of my pocket and dialed his number. He picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Jack? Can you come over?" I asked.

"Um...yeah. I can be there in, like, ten minutes?"

"That's fine. See ya soon."

I hung up before he replied and laid back down, putting my hands over my face. I regret it only because I'm going to break Zack's heart. Only one reason. I'm a bad person.

Sure enough, the door opened about ten minutes later. Jack walked over to the couch, picking up my legs, sitting down, and putting my feet on his lap. "What's up?"

"I slept with Alex."

"What?" he replied, almost immediately.

I sat up and told him everything. Honestly, he didn't exactly seem surprised. But I figured he was just listening.

Jack sighed when I was done. "If I'm being honest," he started, "Alex already told me all of this."

My eyes widened. "He did?"

He nods. "Like, an hour ago."

"Shit," I mumbled.

"Autumn, I don't think you should keep doing this."

"I don't think I should either."

"Then, stop."

I nod. "I have to."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Do Or Die, We Both Break Hearts**

**Autumn's POV**

Zack met me halfway between his school and Dulaney the following Monday morning. Since we were in a parking lot of a fast food restaurant, I was leaning against the outside of my car, waiting on him. I see him walk up and he smiles at me.

"Hey." He tries to kiss my lips, but I turned my head and he kissed my cheek. "O...Kay. Did I do something wrong?"

I shake my head. "No. You're- You did nothing. It's just-"

"What is it?"

I crossed my arms and wouldn't look him in the eyes, just kept looking at the street. "I don't know if we ever really were official, but," I pause and take a deep breath, "I can't keep doing this. We have to break up."

Zack hadn't said anything for a while, so I looked up at him. "Why?" he asked. "I mean, do you like someone else, or what?"

I smirk. "Something like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, Zack, I'm not a good girlfriend. I fuck up, I cheat, I cause too much shit." I shrug. "You're better off without me."

"You know, Autumn, you're allowed to fuck up. It happens."

"I've never fucked up this bad before," I mumbled.

"What?" Zack asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"No, what'd you say? How'd you fuck up?"

I shook my head and took a step away from him, placing my hand on the door handle to my car. "I'm sorry, Zack."

"Autumn, no. What happened?" He tried reaching for my other hand, but I wouldn't let him.

"Just don't worry about me, Zack." I opened my car door. "I'm sorry," I said before shutting the door and driving away. I looked in my rearview mirror, seeing him stare after me with confusion written all over his face.

That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

**Alex's POV**

Autumn walked in late to history that day. Instead of sitting next to me, she sat on the opposite side of the room next to a girl named Sophia. The teacher came over and handed her a pink slip that I recognized as a detention slip. Nice, I had detention today, too.

History was boring and stupid. Without Autumn sitting next to me, I had no one to talk to that wasn't annoying. The class went by slow and then it was time for detention. I was the last person to leave the classroom, going to the library where detention was.

When I walked into the room, there was five kids here, besides me. Jack was one of them, so I sat next to him. "What'd you do?" I whispered to him.

"Threw pizza at Rian in the cafeteria," he replied, shrugging. "What about you?"

"Cussed out this chick and the teacher heard," I said.

Jack scoffed. "Nice. So, guess what I found out."

"What?" I asked, slightly distracted because Autumn walked in. She sat down two tables away from us.

"Autumn, broke up with Zack," Jack said.

"What?" I turned to him.

He nodded. "Yeah, this morning. He texted me last hour."

"Do you think he knows?" I asked, referring to Autumn and I.

Jack shrugs. "He didn't say. I couldn't reply because I sit in the front right by the teacher's desk."

"Well, reply now!" I nudged him in the arm with my fist, but got shushed by the librarian.

"Okay. Jeez. Hang on." Jack pulled out his phone and started typing something. "Okay. I'm waiting."

My own phone buzzed in my pocket, so I pulled it out and saw I had a text from Autumn. Opening it, I noticed all it said was that she needed to talk to me after school. I sent a reply saying I'd meet her outside the school, then looked up at her. She nodded at me and I ignored the bad feeling I had in my gut.

Jack hit my leg, making me look down. He held his phone out to me, so I took it, noticing a text from Zack that said, _"She didn't really give me a reason. All she said was that she was bad girlfriend and that she fucked up. But didn't say what she did."_

A new message icon came up from him and I opened it. _"Then, she got in her car and drove off. Dammit, I really like her."_

Ignoring the jealousy growing in the pit of my stomach, I handed Jack back his phone. He took it and typed something back without a word. To make things worse, we have band practice with him today. I don't know if I can hide this secret from him.

**Autumn's POV**

I met Alex outside of school a half hour later. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his skinny jeans, mine in the pockets of my hoodie. We were standing right outside the doors.

We stayed silent for a while and I was chewing my lip ring. Finally, Alex said, "So, what's up?"

"I don't have an easy way of doing this," I started, "but I don't wanna do this anymore. And I mean that."

"You mean, you don't wanna..." He trailed off, looking like he was trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say.

"Yeah," I said, knowing what he meant. "I'm sorry, Alex."

"But you broke up with Zack," he said.

"I did," I said. "But that doesn't change how I don't want to do this anymore."

"But why do you want to stop?"

"Because I don't want to fuck up anymore."

"So, I'm a fuck up?"

"I never said that." I sighed, trying to calm down a little. "I just need some time to think. Please. I don't want to date anyone or be 'friends with benefits' with anyone, until I figure some things out."

Alex was silent for a minute. "Can we still be friends?"

"I guess..." I paused. "Honestly, I don't think that's a good idea right now either. We can still be friends, but I need to clear my head."

"So, you're breaking up with both of us?"

"We were never together," I mumbled. "But, yeah." I looked up at him.

"I'm sorry." I turned, leaving him standing there.

Worst day ever.

**Alex's POV**

Well, I didn't expect that one.

When I got home, I found Jack already in the basement. "What took you so long?" he said, putting his guitar strap around his neck.

I shrugged. "I guess she broke up with me."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's...interesting."

"Yup."

"What'd she say?"

"That she needed to clear her head and that she didn't want to date anyone or be 'friends with benefits' with anyone." I walked over to an amplifier and sat on it.

"Well, that makes sense. She's confused." Jack strummed a few notes on his guitar, but stopped.

"...I didn't think about it like that," I admitted, eyebrows furrowed together and looking at the floor.

"Alex, she likes two guys and was basically dating both of them. How could you not think about it like that?" He shrugged. "Autumn's just trying to figure out who she wants to be with, if either of you."

"Since when are you a relationship genius?" I looked up at him.

Jack smirked. "I just put stuff together. It wasn't hard."

"You're really close with her, huh?"

He shrugged again. "I guess so."

I picked up my guitar and started playing the beginning to Memories, but stopped when I got to the first verse. "This is not the best song to play right now," I said.

Jack scoffed and shook his head, smiling. "Nope."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Lights Out, I Still Hear The Rain**

**Autumn's POV**

Wednesday morning, I sat in the back of my English class second period. Jack walked in and sat down in front of me. He was turned in his seat so he was facing the wall. His expression showed anger.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"So, I was walking to class, right? And this dude tripped me in hall. So I pushed him against a locker and a teacher saw me so now I have detention today, Monday, and Tuesday." He folded his arms on my desk, resting his head on them so he was facing me.

Smirking, I folded my arms and rested my head on them and faced him, mimicking his actions. He smiled slightly and I said, "I would've done the same thing."

"Even if it was a guy?"

"Especially if it was a guy." We both chuckled together.

"Hey, you're parents still out of town? It's a four day weekend and I've got nothing to do until Saturday."

"What's Saturday?" I asked.

"We have a gig. You should come."

"Eh," I shook my head, "not a good idea."

"Oh, right." Jack's face fell a little. "I forgot, sorry."

I shrug. "No big deal, I guess. So, what, you wanna come over tonight?"

"Yes, please. So does Rian."

"Yeah, whatever. I can rent a movie or something?" I suggested.

Jack grinned. "Yeah!"

I giggled. "Nice. I feel so close to you right now." We were about an inch and a half apart.

"I can feel your breath," Jack says.

"I can smell your's. And I want a piece of that gum."

"How'd you know?"

"Spearmint."

"Damn," he sighs, but smiles. He sits up and reaches into his backpack, retrieving a pack of gum and handing me a piece,- that I took, of course- and throws the pack of gum back into his backpack before sitting the way he was thirty seconds ago. "Now you smell of spearmint."

"Thanks for noticing." I smirked.

"Yeah, no problem."

**XXXX**

I snorted when I saw Jack. "You're a hot mess, Barakat."

"Hey, I blame the rain, Williams." He pulls off his hoodie, hanging it on the stair railing behind him. He shakes his head like a wet dog, making me take a step back.

"Watch it!" I said.

Jack chuckles and mutters a, "Sorry," before kicking off his shoes.

"Dude, you're soaked. You want a towel, or anything?"

"Nah, I'll dry."

"Okay," I said, then started walking into the kitchen.

I didn't know Jack followed until he said, "Oh, yeah. Rian said he couldn't come. Something about a family thing."

"That's cool. We can still have a kick ass sleepover," I replied, opening the fridge.

"Hungry?" Jack asked from my side.

"Mmhmm. I haven't ate yet." Even though, it was, like, nine.

"I don't recommend walking out in the rain."

I closed the fridge door and opened the freezer. "Which is why I'm gonna make a frozen pizza."

Ten minutes later, I had the pizza on a pan and the oven pre-heated. I was sitting on the counter, swinging my legs. Jack was standing by the sink.

"You have to wait until it gets to three-fifty to put it in, right?" Jack said.

Me, being a smart ass, said, "No, you can put it in whenever you want to."

"That's what she said."

"Jack!" I gave him a look.

"Keep screaming it, babe," he says before walking out of the kitchen. I laughed to myself and he reappears half a second later. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist saying it," He says, chuckling a little.

"Nah, don't be sorry. It was funny," I said, laughing.

"Okay, then."

_**One Hour Later**_

"We could play pool? I mean, I do have a pool table in the basement."

Jack nods, enthusiastically. "Let's go!" He grabs my hand and pulls me off the couch, dragging me to the basement.

I flipped on the lights as Jack walked over to the pool table. He starts to set it up as I asked, "Wanna do something you'll regret in the morning?"

It takes him a second, but he says, "Like hooking up with a random stranger regret, or getting a tattoo I never wanted regret?"

"I was thinking of the happy medium." He raised an eyebrow at me. "I'll be back. Hang on." I turned around and ran upstairs.

A minute later, I came back downstairs, a six pack of beer in one hand and bottle of Jack in the other. "Ohhh, like getting completely shitfaced drunk regret?" I nodded and smiled mischievously "Alright, I'm down. Raid your parents liquor cabinet?" Jack asked.

"Pretty much." I shrugged, then set the bottle of Jack Daniels down and tossed him a beer. "Put up or shut up, Jacky B."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you do that on purpose?"

It took me a second to figure out what he meant, but when I did I giggled and said, "No."

He shook his head, but smiled, as he opened his can of Budlight, chugging about half of it. I took a can and opened it myself as the rain began to come down harder.

"You or me first?" Jack asked as I walked over to the stereo and opened the CD player, putting in Green Day's Dookie.

I shrugged. "Up to you," I said as 'Burnout' played throughout the basement, almost drowning out the sound of the rain.

We played pool for a while, Jack stripes and me solids. The rain started pouring down harder as well as it started to thunder and lightning. We were both on our third can of beer and two balls left to get in when Jack said, "Wanna up the stakes a bit?"

I raised my eyebrow and cocked my head lightly. "Keep talking."

"Each time we miss, we each take a shot," he says, grabbing the bottle of whiskey.

"Alright, deal."

"I'm not done yet," he says. "If you win, I will get completely naked."

"Sounds more like a win for you," I mumbled.

"And if I win," he went on, not even phased by my comment, "you have to give me a blow job."

We both went silent and Jack smirked. As 'She' started playing and the rain came down harder with more thunder and more lightning, I sat in thought for a moment.

"Alright," I finally said, "you, my friend, have yourself a deal." I held my hand out for him to shake.

Jack looks taken aback, but a smile slowly spreads across his face. He shakes my hand and says, "I hope you don't mind giving head to your best friends."

I roll my eyes as a loud crack of thunder is heard. "I believe it's your turn," I said.

I ended up having to take only two shots, while Jack had to take three. We were well on our way to being drunk, but not enough to have a hangover quite yet. Now, there was only the eight ball left and it was Jack's shot.

As I was praying he wouldn't make the shot, he got ready to shoot. The rain seemed to pour down even harder. Jack was about to take the shot when there was another loud crack of thunder and the lights flickered a few times before finally going out completely, the stereo cutting off halfway through 'Sassafras Roots'.

"Shit. Autumn, you okay?" I heard Jack say, but I couldn't tell where he was.

"Yeah, are you? Looks like the power went out." I used the pool table to guide me to the other side, running into Jack. "Whoops, sorry."

Jack chuckles. "It's cool. Yeah, I'm good." He digs around in his pocket and I see a small light after a second. His phone. "Should we go upstairs?"

I nod, even though he couldn't see it. "Yeah. Wanna play cards?" I suggested.

"Sure." I grab his hand, lacing our fingers and we both walk upstairs.

I use my cell phone to look for some candles in the cabinet in the kitchen as Jack's on his phone with his mom, telling her he's okay. I guess most of the city is out of power.

I found two candles and a lighter and carried them to the kitchen table where Jack was sitting. I lit the candles and then took one to find a deck of cards.

After two cabinets and a few drawers later, I found one and went back to the table, setting down the candle. I dealt the cards for Go Fish and me and Jack started playing.

One hour and seven games later, it was STILL raining. Jack went over to the couch and I blew out the candles. Us being halfway between buzzed and drunk, I sat down on his lap.

"I think you're drunk, Autumn," Jack says and kisses the side of my head.

"Mmhmm, I think you are, too." I laid my head on his shoulder and his arms wrapped around my waist.

"Maybe." He settled into the couch and adjusted me a little so he could cross his legs.

"You are staying the night, right?" I asked.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Do you want to stay?"

"Kinda..."

"Then, stay the night."

"Okay, then. I'm not going anywhere." He lays his head on top of mine. "Man, I'm so tired."

"You can go to sleep." I moved off his lap and he lays down on the couch.

"Come here." He held open his arms and I laid down in front of him as he wraps his arms around me. A few minutes pass and he asks, "Autumn, can I try something?"

I look over my shoulder at him. "Um, I guess so."

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was hormones. All I know is that Jack's lips slowly touched mine in a soft kiss.

**Alex's POV**

"You did what?"

"Autumn and I hooked up," I repeated, looking up at Zack.

"Is that why she broke up with me?" He stood up from his couch, fists clenched at his sides.

"I don't- I think so. I don't know!" I stood up, too, and brought my hands to my face just to drag them down.

"Alex, what the hell? I thought you were my friend," he says, more calmly, but you could tell he was frustrated.

"What? Are you seriously just blaming me for this? She was your girlfriend!" I defended.

"But you were my friend and have been friends with me longer. AND you knew I liked her and was dating her. What the fuck!" He shoved me, making me stumble back a few feet.

"Whoa, Zack, come on. Chill." I put my hands up in the 'calm down' gesture. "She hasn't spoken to me since she broke up with you."

He shoved me again, making me lose my balance and fall to the floor in his living room. "She hasn't spoken to me either. Fuck, I really like her, Alex."

"Look, I'm sorry! It just happened," I said.

Zack held his fist up like he was going to punch me, which only made me wince and close my eyes to brace myself for the hit. After a second, he let out a loud sigh and said, "I'm not gonna hit you."

I opened my eyes and he held out his hand to help me up. I took his hand and stood up. "I'm sorry, Zack."

"It's okay. Or it will be." He smiles a little. "At least she didn't keep seeing me and lie about it."

I bit the inside of my cheek. _But she was for a while, _I wanted to say so badly, but ended up just saying, "Yeah." I zipped up my hoodie, only halfway, shoving my hands in the pockets. "I just wanted to tell you because I didn't want to keep hiding it from you."

Zack smiles. "Thanks." He's silent for a second, but says, "I feel like I should hug you, or something."

"Come here." I grinned and held open my arms.

"No."

"Come on. Come here." He was backing away from me, but I wrapped my arms around him. "Gimme some love!"

Zack chuckles and hugs me, but steps back. "You're a dick, Alex."

"Yup. So I'm gonna go. Still friends?"

"Still friends." He nods.

"Are you mad at me?"

He shook his head. "Nah."

"Alright then." I walked to his door, calling out, "See ya later," as I opened it before walking out and shutting the door.

Well, that went better than I thought it would. I started walking back to my house which was about a forty minute walk from here. I heard a crack of thunder and then it started raining again.

I sighed, stopped walking, and looked up at the sky. "You've got to be kidding me," I said to myself. I took in my surroundings and since I was about halfway to my house, I decided to keep walking. I put my hood up, getting completely soaked pretty quickly.

I was walking faster and then it occurred to me that Autumn's house was on the way back. I did a debate in my head, finally deciding I'd see if she would let me wait out the storm at her house as soon as I was in front of her drive way. Taking a deep breath, I walked up the drive way, up the steps, and knocked on her door.

**Autumn's POV**

I pulled back and narrowed my eyes in thought. "Well, that was..."

"Weird?" Jack suggested.

"I was gonna say different, but yeah." I nodded and turned around so I was facing him. "Didn't we already try this once? Like, a year and a half ago?"

"Yeah, and it was weird then," Jack replied.

"Then, why did you do it again?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know... It seemed like we were having a moment and I thought I might have liked you for a minute there." He finishes smiling sheepishly and a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks.

I smiled and kissed his nose. "I think we're just close friends, Jack." I turned back around and felt his arms tighten around my waist.

"I agree, Autumn," he says.

I was falling asleep with him breathing steady down my neck and the sound of the rain hitting the windows when there was a soft knock on the door. I looked at Jack, confused, and he just shrugged. We both got up and walked to the door, seeing a figure in black skinny jeans and a black hoodie on the other side through the glass.

I opened the door, the sound of the rain amplifying. The person on the other side was soaked, water dripping from his face when he pulled down his hood, and his hair and clothes were matted.

"Alex?" I asked.

"Yeah..." He pauses. "I was walking home from Zack's when it started raining again and I ended up here. I was wondering if you would let me wait out the storm?"

I looked at Jack, who was standing to my left, but behind me. A loud crack of thunder that made me jump made my decision for me. "Yeah, sure. The power's out, but..." I cut off my thought and shrugged. "I'll get you some towels."

I let Alex walk inside and shut the door. He smiled slightly at me and said, "Thanks."

I smiled and nodded my reply. Jack and Alex started talking as I went up the stairs to the cabinet across from the bathroom to get a few towels. I also went to my room to get a pair of basketball shorts and an oversized plain black t-shirt, hoping it would fit him.

"Um," I started once I got down stairs, interrupting whatever Alex and Jack were laughing at, "I don't know if these will fit you, but you can try?" I suggested and handed the towels and clothes over to him.

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Alex smiles again and walks up the stairs to the bathroom.

Once we heard a door shut, Jack looked at me and said, "You can practically feel the awkward between you guys."

I shrugged and sat next to him on the couch. "I'm just trying to be nice. Things will be a lot easier if he's not hating me or if I'm not hating him."

"Do you hate him?"

I shook my head, keeping my gaze ahead. "If anything, he should hate me."

"He doesn't," Jack said.

"Really?" I looked at him.

He nods. "Really. He knows you were just confused and trying to figure out who you wanted."

It's conversations like these between me and Jack, when we're halfway between drunk and sober, that some of the deepest things are said.

I'm taken aback. "Jack, I swear you know me better than myself sometimes. I never told you that."

He shrugs. "It wasn't hard to figure out."

"So... I'm asking."

"What?" Jack looks over at me.

I hesitate, but ask, "Does Zack hate me?"

Jack shakes his head. "He just doesn't understand why you broke up with him."

"I felt bad about hooking up with Alex and I'm still trying to figure out if I wanna be with either of them."

Jack nods and was about to reply, but Alex came back downstairs in my clothes, his wet clothes and a towel in one hand, and another towel in the other. "Um, do you have a bag I can put these wet clothes in?"

"I can put them in the dryer when the power comes back on?" I said.

Alex shrugged. "Whatever's easier." He sits down on the loveseat and starts towel drying his hair.

We sat in silence as Alex towel dried and combed his hair, which was about ten minutes. It was so silent I could hear the comb running through Alex's hair. I couldn't take this anymore, so I said, "So, me and Jack were playing cards. Do you wanna play?"

Alex shrugged again and smiled. "Yeah, sure." We all walked into the dining room and I lit the candles and dealt the cards for Go Fish again.

**Author's Note-**

**I've hit a bit of a writer's block on Guaranteed We'll Disagree. That's kinda why it takes forever for me to update that one : ( I'll do my best, though.**

**And some short rambles I have to get out-**

**I start school Wednesday. Sophomore year, how I'm looking forward to you. I'm not going to feed you full of false information about how I'll update the same because I honestly don't know how bad it will be yet lol anyways...**

**Much Love,**

**-Kelsey**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Get Off Easy**

**Autumn's POV**

_**The Following Monday**_

"That awkward moment when the teacher's talking about sex in biology and you're sitting next to the person you just won't stop giggling."

I raised an eyebrow at Kara. "So, you sit next to Jack in biology?"

She giggled, but folded her arms on the table in front of her before laying her head on them. "He laughed at everything!" she said, but it was muffled. We were in the cafeteria at lunch and she was sitting across from me.

Rian came over and sat next to Kara. He raised an eyebrow down at her, then shifted his gaze to me. "Is she okay?"

I chuckled and nodded. "She will be."

Kara sat up and moved her hair out of her face. "Gosh, he's such a pervert."

"Jack?" Rian asked.

"How does everyone know who I'm talking about?" Kara asked, but laughed.

Rian and I both shrugged and then speak of the Devil himself came up. "Hey, Jack," I said.

He sits next to me. "How's it going?"

"You are such a pervert," Kara said, slight frustration in her voice.

"What?" Jack said, but had a smile on his face.

"In biology all you did was laugh at everything the teacher said."

Jack chuckles, then shrugs. "So?"

"It's kinda creepy," Rian throws in.

I nod, but wrap my hands around Jack's arm and lay my head on his shoulder. "We love him, though," I defended Jack.

Jack lays his head on mine. "Love you, too, Autumn."

"Oh, I see how it is," Rian says at the same time Kara says, "That's messed up. She said 'we' for a reason."

"Well, you guys were temporarily upset with me. I didn't think you would want to hear an 'I love you' right now," Jack argues as I lift my head and let go of his arm.

"We weren't temporarily upset with you," Kara says.

"Alright then," Jack starts, "I love you, too." Rian and Kara both said things of agreement, but they were at the same time again so I didn't really understand it.

"I. Hate. Mondays." Jack folds his arms and lays his head on them, mimicking Kara's actions just a second ago.

"Who doesn't?" Rian asked.

"Touché," Jack mumbles, still keeping his head down.

I was spacing out for the majority of their conversation just daydreaming and thinking. My eyes went to the door when I saw Alex walk in. I looked away quickly when he looked at me, but shifted my gaze back up to see him in the lunch line now.

"Earth to Autumn! Hello!"

I blinked a few times and shook my head before giving Rian my full attention. "Yeah?"

He, Kara, and Jack all sighed. "I've never seen someone space out so much," Jack said.

"Yeah, you okay?" Kara asked. "You seem more out of it than usual."

I nod. "I'm just tired and don't really have the attention span today." Which wasn't a lie. I just didn't want to pay attention.

"Eh," Rian shrugs, "I've had those days."

I shrug before laying my head on the table, the same way Jack and Kara did just a short time ago.

**XXXX**

"Autumn, stop feeling so down!" Jack put an arm around my shoulders and laid his head on mine.

"Jack, I just feel...weird, alright?" I said, shutting my locker and moving to face him.

He pouts before hugging me. "I don't like this Autumn." I giggled which makes Jack move back slightly to look at me. "I got you to laugh!"

"And if you don't let me go, I'm gonna be late to class," I said after the second bell rang.

"I'll walk you. Come on." He kept his arm around me as we started walking to my class.

"You're gonna be late, though."

"My friend is upset. It's fine."

I smile up at him. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem, Autumn."

The next class I had was history, which meant I had it with Alex, but it also meant it was the last class of the day. When I got in the class, everyone was here (something new) so the only seat left was by Alex and I was the last one in there.

I hesitantly sat next to him, setting my book on the desk. The teacher hadn't started lecturing yet. I glanced at Alex, who was texting nonchalantly. I took my notebook and a pencil out of my bag before leaning back in my chair and chewing on my lip ring.

Alex whispered a, "Shit!" then he said, "Hey, um, Autumn can I borrow a pencil?"

"Uh, yeah." I reached into my backpack once again to get out a pencil.

I handed it to Alex, who smiled and said, "Thanks."

"Mmhmm." I smile and nod.

If there was one thing to wish for right now, it would be to take away this awkward. You could probably feel it in the air. About halfway through the class, when we had to start our assignment, I couldn't stand it anymore. I thought of a stupid reason to talk to Alex, trying to make this a little less awkward.

"Hey, do you know what number fifteen is?" I asked Alex.

He glances up at me before looking back down at his paper. "Um...I said it was true."

"Oh, thanks," I replied, even though I already knew it was.

"Do you know number eight?" Alex asked me after a second.

I looked down at my paper. "It's false."

"I thought it was true!" He sets his/my pencil down on the textbook before putting his face in his hands, just to drag them down. "Man, I don't get history."

"Alex, it's not that hard," I chuckled.

"There's too many dates and too many things that happened to keep track. How is it false?"

"The year is wrong. It was 1862, not 1865."

Alex smiled at me. "You're so smart."

I shook my head. "I just pay attention."

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I took it out after making sure the teacher wasn't watching. It was a text from Zack that said, _"Hey_."

For the first time in a week, I texted him back. _"I owe you an explanation."_

He replies, almost immediately. _"Yeah...you do."_

I bit my lip before replying, _"Wanna meet somewhere? I'll explain everything."_

Zack hadn't replied yet, so I put my phone back in my pocket. "Are you okay?" Alex asked. "You seem...distant."

I sighed and looked at him. "Want me to be blunt, or sugar coat it?"

"Um, I'll go with blunt."

"I feel like shit because of what I did to you and Zack, I can't go anywhere near you without created a sea of awkward, Zack just texted me out of nowhere, and I kissed Jack Wednesday."

Alex raised an eyebrow, but squinted his eyes closed and shook his head. "Wait, what? You kissed Jack?" There was something in his voice. Jealousy?

"We were both semi drunk and decided it meant nothing because it just felt weird."

"Oh. Okay. Why did Zack text you?"

I shrug. "I don't know."

"Okay. Well, I don't know what to do about the first two things." He pauses. "Don't feel like shit about what happened between you and me. It wasn't exactly one-sided."

"I know, but still."

"And it's clearly not that awkward because you just told me your problems and you're having no problem talking about what happened." He smiles slightly.

I smirk. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right."

I shook my head, smiling. My phone goes off again, so I pull it out of my pocket. "_Can I go over to your house later?" _Zack's text said.

I hesitate before replying. _"Yeah."_

_**That Night**_

"Hey," I said once I opened the front door.

"Hey." Zack walked in and I shut the door before we both went into the living room.

It was silent for a good five minutes, except for the TV that was tuned to MTV at the moment. I crossed my legs, facing Zack completely. "Where do you want me to start?" I asked.

Zack doesn't say anything for a second. "So, you hooked up with Alex?"

I'm taken aback, but say, "He told you?" It came out more as a statement.

Zack nodded. "Wednesday." He pauses, but adds, "Is that why you broke up with me?"

I nod, not meeting his eyes. "Yeah."

Zack nods, slowly. "I'm not mad at you. But thank you for being honest." I didn't reply to him. "Can I ask you something?"

I shrug. "I guess."

"Why'd you do it?"

I shrug again. "Thought I could get away with it, I guess. I don't really know."

He nods, slowly, again. "I think I'm gonna go." He smiles slightly.

"Thanks for talking to me." He gets up and walks to the door. Once he opens it he says, "Bye, Autumn."

"Bye, Zack," I said as he closed the door.

I laid down on my couch on my back, my hands over my face. I was such an idiot. He's the sweetest guy ever, and I cheated on him. I sighed before rolling over on my side, using my arm as I pillow, confessing something to myself I should've already.

I miss him.

A lot.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Rumor Mill**

**Alex's POV**

When I tried to go to my locker the next morning, there was a crowd of people blocking my way as they stood in the middle of the hallway. There was also people trying to get in the crowd of people. Rolling my eyes to myself, I started pushing my way through.

I somehow managed to get to the front of the crowd, seeing Autumn and some other chick get pulled apart by a teacher. I sighed to myself once I realized they were fighting, then thought, _What the actual fuck?_

"What is going on?" a teacher yelled. By now another teacher had came up and was holding Autumn by her forearm. The teacher that separated them was holding the blonde haired chick Autumn was fighting by her forearm as well.

"She started it!" the blonde chick yelled. I quickly realized it was Jack's ex girlfriend.

"I don't care who started it!" Teacher Number One yelled. He looks at Autumn. "What happened?"

Autumn and the other girl started saying stuff at the same time. The teacher holding Autumn back was having a hard time keeping her grip on Autumn's arm, as was the teacher holding back Jack's ex.

"Fuck you!" the blonde chick yelled. I couldn't remember her name for the life of me right now.

"What did I ever do to you!" Autumn yelled back.

Jack's ex lunged at Autumn, but Autumn pushed her back across the hall into the lockers. The blonde was going to go at Autumn again, but I stepped in and grabbed Autumn's arm roughly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I said to her.

She tried to get her arm away, but looked up. Her face relaxed and she whispered, "Alex."

Everyone- the teachers, the crowd of students, Jack's ex- looked at me. I looked at Autumn with so much confusion. We just stared at each other for a minute. The teacher that broke up the fight walked over to me. "Son, maybe you should come with us to the office and help us sort this mess out. We need you to keep her calm." He nods to Autumn.

I nod and move my hand to Autumn's as I follow the teachers and Jack's ex to the office. The crowd separates to let us walk through as we go by.

When we got to the office, they took in Jack's ex first, who I finally remembered her name was Madison. They sat me down outside the office next to Autumn. I hadn't let go of her hand yet, so I squeezed it a little then looked at her. "You wanna tell me what happened?" I asked quietly so that the secretaries didn't hear.

She was looking down at the floor, and wouldn't look at me. "Somehow," she starts just as quiet, "she found out I kissed Jack. She came up to me and started cussing me out telling me stupid shit. I don't really know. I spaced out for most of it. I said something that pissed her off and she swung at me. All I did was defend myself."

I nod and since I was going to have to back her up I said, "Are you lying?"

She gives me a look. "Alright, fine. You don't have to believe me." She crosses her arms and shook her head. By the coldness in her voice, I knew she wanted to say so much more.

"Autumn, I'm just making sure because I'll have to back up your story," I said, honestly.

She sighs. "Okay. I'm sorry. And, no, I'm not lying."

"It's fine. I would've gotten mad, too."

She sighs again and lays her head back against the wall. "I'm gonna be in so much shit. I'll get suspended, maybe expelled. I'll get grounded." She closes her eyes. "Not to mention this lovely bruise on my chin."

It was only then that I realized she had a black bruise forming on her chin. "It's not as noticeable as you think," I said.

"Yeah," she scoffs. "Look at it in an hour."

"Autumn, it's your turn," the teacher that had broke up the fight came out. The blonde chick glared at Autumn as she walked out, a teacher escorting her by the arm.

I bit my lip to stifle a laugh. Her make up was messed up, her hair disheveled and sticking up random places, a bruise was forming on her cheek, her left eye was black, and her nose was bruised and swollen with dry blood stuck to her upper lip. Compared to her, Autumn got off easy. She sniffed once, then waved a half ass wave at me. I nodded to her and chuckled lightly once she walked out of the office.

"Let's go," the principle said. Autumn got up and the teacher nodded to me, signaling for me to go in as well. We sat down on the couch in front of his desk. The teacher sat in a chair next to the desk. "Okay, Miss Williams," the principle starts again, "your side of the story?"

Autumn started telling what had happened. By the look in the principle's eyes, he believed her. When she was done, he sighed to himself and looked down at a paper on his desk that I quickly recognized as an incident report.

"Well," the principle starts, "I must say your stories are completely different."

Autumn furrowed her eyebrows together. "Different, how?"

"Miss Cartwright said you attacked her. Said you threatened her and she felt intimidated and was defending herself."

"That's a load of crap," I chimed in.

"And how would you know?" The other three people in the room looked at me.

"Madison dated one of my best friends. I know from experience that she's not exactly an honest person," I said. "I also know that Autumn wouldn't fight someone unless she had a good reason to."

"Well, it's good that I didn't believe Madison and that I believe Autumn then, correct?" At those words, the principle looked down and wrote something on the incident report.

Autumn looked at me and mouthed a, "Thank you." I smiled a little at her and nodded.

"Four days suspension starting today," the principle finally says. "Maybe your boyfriend here will be nice enough to get your work for you and take you home this morning."

"He's not my boyfriend," Autumn said at the same time I said, "I'm not her boyfriend."

"Oh." He looks taken aback. "Hmm. Could've fooled me."

"But, uh, I can take her home if I can get excused for first hour?" I asked, a small smile on my face.

The principle smiles. "Sure." He writes me a pass out of first hour, hands it to me, then looks at Autumn. "I'm calling your teachers now. Go get your work."

We left, and Autumn didn't say anything to me until we got out in the hallway. She looks up at me, a small smile on her face. "Thank you."

I smile back, but look ahead. "No problem."

**XXXX**

The rest of the day, Autumn's fight was pretty much the talk of the school. Madison got suspended for four days as well, but spent an hour in the nurse's office cleaning up her cuts and bruises and making sure her nose wasn't broken. Because of me stepping in, though, there was a lot of rumors going around. Ones like:

"I heard they both slept with Alex."

"Nah, dude. They were fighting over Jack."

"No. Autumn jumped her."

"Ha, doubt it. Madison kicked Autumn's ass."

Let me just prove those wrong. Only I slept with Autumn, Madison jumped Autumn, Autumn kicked Madison's ass, but I guess they were fighting over Jack. Madison still likes him even though she's the one that cheated.

"Okay," Jack slammed his binder and math book down on the table in front of me, making me snap out of my trance. He sat across from me in the crowded cafeteria, but I somehow managed to get an empty table. "Tell me why I keep getting asked if I fucked Autumn and Madison."

I smiled to myself, then looked up at him. "Ah, come on, Jacky. You would fuck them anyways. But you didn't hear about the fight?"

"Madison's a slut. She's a walking STD and you could probably stick a foot up her. Autumn's my best friend- that'd be gross. What fight?"

"Autumn and Madison fought this morning, like, ten minutes before school started. I mean, I know it's only lunch, but how did you not know?"

"I do not know. What the hell happened?"

I shrugged. "I guess Madison found out you kissed Autumn somehow and she got mad, swung at Autumn, and then they fought."

"Whoa, slow down. How did you find out I kissed Autumn?"

I shrugged again. "She told me."

"So, then how did Madison know?"

I shrugged, once again. "Found out somehow. I don't know. I do know that they both got suspended for four days, I stopped a second fight between them from happening, and Autumn beat the shit out of Madison."

"Sounds about right. Autumn can kick some ass." He looked away for a second, then groaned and added, "Speak of the fucking Devil's best friend. Let's go." He stands up, grabs his stuff, then grabs my wrist and pulls me to my feet.

Quickly grabbing my backpack, I said, "Dude, what's going on?"

"I'm avoiding a confrontation." He dragged me outside the cafeteria doors, then outside to the courtyard.

"A confrontation? What?"

Jack sighs and looks at me. "Madison's friends would've given me so much shit, and you, too, since you stopped the fight."

"Ah, the slut has friends?"

"Probably fake friends, but yes. Should we go see Autumn after school?"

I shrugged again. "She might be grounded."

"There you guys are." Jack and I both looked behind me at Rian. "Two questions. Who fought this morning and where's Autumn?"

I shared a look with Jack, who said, "Well..." and started in on the story.

_**After School**_

I raised my fist to knock on Autumn's door. It took a minute, but she answers the door, slightly taken aback. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Oh, yeah! Jack and Rian were standing on either side of me.

"We wanted to make sure you were okay," Rian said, shrugging.

"And to tell you that there's a shitload of rumors going around about you," Jack added.

Autumn sighed and glanced over her shoulder. She stepped aside and gestured for us to walk in. As soon as she shut the door, I noticed something that made me extremely confused and added awkward to the room. I also may or may not have felt jealousy forming in my stomach. "Hey, Zack," I said.

He looks over the couch and smiles at all of us. "Hey."

**Author's Note-**

**Since I'm super mega lazy and haven't updated in just about forever, I'm going to put something up everyday this week because I have stuff written, I promise, I just didn't want to turn on my computer…**

**Anyways, expect something else tomorrow : )**

**-Kelsey**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: I Make Them Good Boys Go Bad**

**Alex's POV**

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked, sitting next to Zack.

Zack shrugged. "School got out early and Autumn told me she got suspended, so we decided to hang out."

I looked at Autumn, who shrugged, and noticed the bruise on her chin. "Ouch," Rian said, pointing at her bruise.

She shrugged again. "I didn't even feel it."

I walked into her living room and sat on the other side of Zack. "So, how did your parents take you getting suspended?" I asked.

Autumn sat next to Jack. "My mom was cool with it because I told her what happened. My dad was mad only because I was gonna miss school."

"So you got off easy?" Rian asked, sitting in front of Jack on the floor.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Nice." Jack grinned and held his hand up for a high-five, to which Autumn smirked and slapped his hand.

"I'm kinda hungry. You guys wanna order a pizza?" Autumn asked after a few minutes of silence.

We all said our replies of yes and she ordered three pizzas. We pretty much just watched TV until the pizzas got here. The doorbell rang and Autumn got up, grabbing the money she placed by the door. A minute later she called to us, "Hey, can one of you guys come take these pizzas from me?"

Zack and I got up, walking to the door. He took two, while I took one. I happened to notice the pizza guy was checking her out while she gave him the money and also acted like he didn't wanna leave. Autumn shut the door and I carried the pizza to the table, then smirked at her. "He was totally checking you out."

She snorted. "Yeah, okay."

"I agree with Alex on this one," Zack said, setting the other two pizzas on the table as Jack and Rian came up.

"He wanted a piece of that ass," Jack said.

"I am going to slap you," she said, but had a smile on her face, to Jack.

He shrugged. "Worth it."

"But he was," Zack added.

Autumn shook her head, biting into a piece of pizza and turning around. "He gave off that creepy rapist vibe."

"Eh." I shrugged, following her into the living room with my plate of pizza and sitting next to her. "It might've just seemed like that."

"He looked nervous," Zack said from the table as Jack collapsed next to Autumn.

"Whatevs. He's just a pizza guy," Autumn said simply.

Three hours later, I found myself the last to leave. We were sitting on her couch and she looked over at me. "So, since I already got suspended today I know this is a bad idea, but-"

"No, we're not gonna go rob the school," I cut her off.

She looked completely taken aback. After she shook her head she said, "I was just gonna see if you wanted to tipi Jack's house." She shrugged. "He tipied mine about a month ago and I wanna get him back."

"A little birdie told me you're trouble, Autumn. I shoulda listened," I said. She smirked. I thought a second, fighting a chuckle. It had been me that helped Jack. I looked up at her with a sly smile on my face. "I would be a double agent." Autumn gave me a confused look, so I added, "I helped Jack tipi your house."

"Gaskarth!" She narrowed her eyes and threw a straw wrapper at me.

I laughed and knocked the straw wrapper out of my hair then shrugged with a smile. "Sorry."

"I spent three hours cleaning up that toilet paper." She hit me with a throw pillow. "And I didn't even get it all!" She hit me again.

"I said sorry!" I defended, holding my hands up to block the pillow because I thought she was going to hit me again.

"It's okay," she chuckled. "But it would be awesome if you helped me."

"Yeah, I'll help you."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

I shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, sure."

_**Four Hours Later**_

It's about eleven that night and Autumn and I are running down Jack's driveway. She ducked behind a bush then grabbed my wrist and pulled me down next to her. "He saw us," she said, bluntly.

"You don't know that," I replied, whispering. "All he did was turn on his light to his room, then we ran down here."

"I still think he saw us," she whispered.

I heard rustling of the bush and figured she just moved a little as I never took my eyes off of Jack's house. The light to his room went off not two seconds after and I said, "See? The light's off, Autumn." I looked to my left where I expected to see Autumn, but didn't. "Autumn?" I asked, an eyebrow raised at nothing. "Autumn!" I whisper-yelled. Nothing.

"Holy shit. I lost her."

**Autumn's POV**

"Alex, I'm right here." I grabbed Alex's wrist and dragged him to his feet. "We have to get out of here. There's a cop car coming." His eyes widened and he grabbed my hand and started running down the street. "Alex, we don't have to run!" I said.

"Yes, we do! It's past curfew!" he replied. Once we got to the end of the street, we turned left and started walking again as we tried to catch our breath. He looked at me with a smile. "That was fun."

I nodded and smiled back. "Mmhmm."

He hadn't let go of my hand yet and, if I'm being honest, I didn't want him, too. I laced our fingers together as we fell into a comfortable silence, the only thing you could hear was our footsteps.

"Hey," I turned to him again and he looked at me, "do you need a ride home?"

He shrugged. "I can walk, but I don't want you walking alone."

"I've done it before," I mumbled.

"No way, Autumn. Too dangerous!" He shook his head, then smirked at me.

"Why don't you just stay at my house then? My parents won't care."

"They won't?" His eyebrows raised.

I shook my head. "It's totally fine. They had something to go to...I don't really know what it was, but they'll be pouring themselves into bed around dawn. We should be okay."

We turned onto my street and walked the rest of the way to my house. I unlocked the front door, stepped into my house with Alex, and closed the door behind me, locking it again. We both went upstairs to my room. I got pajama pants and a tank top out of my dresser and dug a pair of sweatpants out for Alex then threw them to him.

He caught them then narrowed his eyes at me with a smirk. "You trying to get me to walk around shirtless?"

I laughed, but said, "Yes, Alex. I can't resist your muscles."

"I knew it," he chuckled.

"You know I just thought of something. How are you gonna get clean clothes tomorrow?"

He shook his head. "It's testing day, remember? I didn't register to take the ACT, so instead of sitting in a library all morning, I'm just not going." He grinned. "I can stay here and keep you company."

I smirked, mocking him earlier. "A little birdie told me you're trouble, Alex. I shoulda listened," I said, walking out of my room and to the bathroom. He chuckled after me.

I changed fast and when I walked back to my room, Alex was laying down in my bed and pulling the covers up and over him. "Oh, so you just assume I was gonna let you share a bed with me?" I crossed my arms and smirked down at him.

Alex nodded up at me. "You've done it before and we weren't as...clothed as we are now."

My jaw dropped and I smacked his chest. He laughed as I shut the door. I literally stood on my bed and climbed over him before getting under the covers myself. As I rolled over on my side, not facing him, he said, "Good night, Autumn."

"Night, Alex," I replied, closing my eyes.

**XXXX**

The next morning I woke up to my shoulder being shook and Alex saying, "Autumn! Autumn, wake the fuck up!"

"Mmm, leave me alone," I mumbled, knitting my eyebrows and rolling over on my other side, not facing him.

"But, Autumn, I'm bored!" he whined.

"So, go entertain yourself!"

"I need you for that. I don't know where anything is." I sighed and rubbed my eyes before sitting up and crossing my legs. I looked at Alex, who was sitting on his knees in front of my bed and laughing. "I'm loving your hair."

I smirked, grabbing my brush from the night stand next to me. "I try," I said as I started running the brush through my orange and black locks. "Eh, my hair's fading." I picked up some of my hair in my fingertips. "Well, I know what I wanna do today." I set my brush down and looked at Alex as he sat down on my bed.

"Who, me?" He put a hand over his heart and smiled. "Autumn, I'm flattered."

Picking up my pillow next to me, I narrowed my eyes at him just before hitting him. "That's not what I meant."

He grinned. "I know. You wanna dye your hair again."

"Yeah..." I trailed off and picked up my phone on my night stand to check the time. I threw it at Alex after I shot him glare. "I am suspended. I do not need to be up at eight."

"My mom called me and asked if I was okay since I told her I was staying at Jack's last night. She woke me up. He and Rian aren't going to the testing either, by the way." Alex finished as be started going through my phone.

I snatched it out of his hand. "I can't go through your's, you can't go through mine." I got off of my bed and went to my closet, pulling out dark blue skinny jeans, orange converse, and a gray shirt.

I threw those clothes on my bed as Alex asked disbelievingly, "Autumn's not wearing black?"

I selected my black hoodie out of my closet and threw it on my bed as well. "Of course, I am," I said, turning around. "You wanna wear that to your house when I drive you home to get clothes?"

Alex shrugged. "I guess so."

"Okay, so you should get out so I can change."

"I've seen you naked, Autumn," Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, and you've also seen Jack naked, but you don't watch him change his clothes, do you?"

"That's different."

"Yup." I grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet before pushing on his chest to get him out of my room. He sighed and I smirked at him before shutting the door in his face.

I changed, made sure I had my money, cell phone, iPod, and car keys, then opened the door to see Alex sitting on the floor and leaning up against the wall. "You done?" he asked.

I nodded then pointed at his feet. "You need shoes."

"And my dirty clothes, and a hoodie," he said as he stood up. I let him walk past me into my room. He put on his hoodie and his shoes.

"Got everything?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Let's go!" I took his hand and dragged him downstairs and out the door.

Ten minutes later, I was sitting on Alex's bed waiting on him to change his clothes. He came out of the bathroom, fully dressed in skinny jeans and a Blink shirt. "Wanna leave now?"

I shrugged. "If you're ready. I plan on getting Jack and Rian."

"Cool. Where are we going anyways?"

I stood up and started following him out of his room and his house. "Hot Topic. They're the only place that has my hair dye."

"You do it yourself?" Alex looked at me, an eyebrow raised. I nodded and he added, "Wow. I thought you went to somebody."

"Nope." I shut his front door behind me and followed him to my car.

Another ten minutes later, Alex was knocking on Jack's door and I was standing next to him. Jack answered groggily and rubbing his eyes, just in his boxers. "What do you guys want? I'm sleeping," he mumbled.

"We need a very perverted and a very childish best friend to come with us to the mall," Alex said, smiling at Jack.

I nodded and pushed past Jack, turned a corner, walked down a hallway, and went to his room. I got skinny jeans and a t-shirt out for him and when I turned around him and Alex were standing there. I threw the clothes at Jack and said, "Get dressed."

Jack sighed and pulled his shirt on over his head then put his legs in his jeans, jumping to make the process faster. "Why are we going to the mall?"

"Autumn needs hair dye," Alex said, falling onto Jack's bed on his back.

I nodded again and looked at Jack, who was now slipping on converse. "Let's go." He grabbed his phone and a hoodie. Alex and I followed him outside his house and back to my car.

And again, ten minutes later we were at Rian's house. We all went upstairs where we found Rian pulling on his shoes. "Jack texted me," he said when he saw us, then stood up. "Let's go."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Let The Flames Begin**

**Autumn's POV**

"Gosh, she's such a priss! She takes forever!"

I watched as Jack fell onto my bed on his back. Alex was on the floor in front of my bed and Rian was sitting up against the head board.

"Who is?" I asked.

Rian and Alex snickered, but Jack was straight up. "You take forever to wash hair dye out of your hair."

"I was in the shower for, what? Ten minutes?" I looked at Rian for help.

He nodded. "Fifteen, tops."

I looked back at Jack. "So impatient."

Alex huffed, Rian scoffed, and Jack pouted. Then Alex looked at me and said, "Your hair's curly?"

Sitting down on my bed, I nodded and looked down at a few locks of my hair, noticing it was starting to curl. "Yup."

Jack poked my side, making me look down at him. "You should leave it curly."

"I probably will. I'm suspended and too lazy to straighten it. Speaking of, what time is it?"

"2:30," Rian and Alex answered together.

I hummed and said, "Cool. I'm gonna go get food." I walked out of my room and didn't know they were following me until somebody put his arms around me from behind as he attempted to walk with me. "Jack, you are making this whole walking thing extremely difficult."

"How'd you know it was me?" he said, not letting go.

I stopped walking and looked over my shoulder at him. "Because no one else would do this." He frowned and let me go, but grabbed my hand and pulled me downstairs. "Oh, my gosh."

I was making a peanut butter an jelly sandwich, Alex and Rian standing across the island from me, Jack standing behind me with his arms around me...again. His head was on my shoulder and, feeling suffocated, I said, "Why are you being so clingy!"

He looked up at me and pouted. "There is no need to be mean."

"Jack, I just want to make a sandwich. Let me eat it and then I will hug you."

"I don't wanna let go."

"Oh, my gosh." Rian grabbed the hood of Jack's hoodie and pulled him off of me.

I looked at Rian, smiling in relief. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Jack was leaning up against the counter, pouting still, and Alex was shaking his head at the ground but I saw he was smiling. I ate my sandwich, Alex stealing half of it. When I was done I looked at Jack. He was still pouting.

I help open my arms. "Come here."

He smiled and walked into my arms, his head falling to my shoulder. "This is nice."

"You're weird."

"Yup."

_**That Tuesday**_

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of my car, grabbed my backpack, and made my way into school. It was hot today for April and the sun was already shining. I walked into the school, instantly feeling people watching me and whispers all around me. I shook my head to myself, flipped my bangs out of my face, and walked to my locker, trying to ignore it all.

After getting my Pre-Calc textbook out of my locker, I shut the door and jumped when I saw Alex standing there. He smirked at me then said, "You're the talk of the school."

I shook my head, walking back to the main entrance doors. We still had about twenty minutes before the first bell rang. "There's nothing to stare at."

Alex quickly caught up to me. "Really? I mean, you got in a fight, your hair is bright orange, and your hot. And you're standing here telling me there's nothing to stare at?"

Hoping I wasn't blushing I replied, "People love a good fight."

Alex's smirk got bigger. "You're blushing."

I blushed brighter. "Stop it."

His smirk turned into a grin. "Autumn, you're the most-"

He's cut off by Jack walking into this hallway and almost into me. "Hey. I was just looking for you guys and OH MY GOSH I missed you in my classes!" Jack hugged me, but because of the way he did I couldn't put my arms around him.

"Missed you, too, Jacky." I ruffled his hair when he stepped back.

He looked down at my textbook I hand in my hands then up at me as we started walking again. "You're so smart."

I noticed Alex had fell silent, so I elbowed him lightly. "What's up, Lexy?"

I apparently snapped him out of his thoughts because he looked over at me. "Nothing." He shrugged and smiled. "Just spacing out."

Jack linked his arm with mine, making me look back at him. "Will you come with me to go get Rian?"

"Well, where's Rian?" I asked.

"Probably in the parking lot," Alex said.

I sighed, "I suppose."

Sure enough, Rian was in the parking lot walking up to the school when we got outside. Alex spaced out for most of it, which confused me. That's not like him. But I shrugged it off.

_**At Lunch**_

The stares. I can't fucking stand the stares. It's like I can feel them burning a hole into me.

I jumped and looked up from my math book when I heard someone loudly sit down across from me at a lunch table. I expected to see Jack, but instead I saw Alex. "So, are we still going to this?" He held up a concert ticket in his hand that I quickly recognized as the one I had given him to see Jimmy Eat World.

"Shit. I forgot about that," I said honestly. "It's this weekend, right?"

Alex nodded, setting the ticket back in the crease of his textbook before closing it. "So, you're still going?"

"Better question is when are we leaving."

He grinned. "Pick you up at five?"

I smiled and nodded a little. "Sure."

Was it bad that I was beginning to feel nerves in my stomach?

I looked up at Alex to see him chewing on his lip as he texted. Why did I find that adorable? No. No! You can't like him. Not when you still like Zack. No.

I shook my head to myself before picking up my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder, and picking up my math book. What I said next wasn't a total lie...but I needed to get away before the nerves sent me into stutters and word vomit. "I gotta go turn some stuff in," I said, standing up. "See ya later." I smiled at Alex before walking off.

"Hey, Autumn, wait!" I turned back slightly to look at Alex, my eyebrows raised. "I'll text you." He smiled.

I couldn't prevent my smile and I nodded before walking out of the cafeteria, bumping into someone once the door closed behind.

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled, but quickly regretted it once I saw the blonde hair and the super skinny frame I was jealous of. I smirked as Madison turned around. "Never mind. No, I'm not." I tried to walk around her, but she grabbed my arm. "Do you seriously want me to kick your ass again?" I jerked my arm away and fought a smirk when I saw her "friends" fight a laugh when they looked at Madison. I didn't even wait for a reply as I started walking away.

More stares. Damn the stares. For all I knew I could have the word stupid plastered to my forehead and not even know it. If I didn't know any better I'm half fucking crazy. I almost made a complete trail around the school going from English to Chemistry to Pre-Calculus and then finally Spanish. I could tell people already knew about what happened in the hallway just a short time ago by the whispers. Having enough, I shoved my ear buds in my ears and turned up Fall Out Boy as I made my way to history.

I pulled my ear buds out as I walked into the classroom that always smelled like vanilla from the Glade scented plug ins. Collapsing in my usual desk at the back, I said a hello to the teacher and realized I was the only one in here. But a short time later the class began to fill up once the warning bell rang and I pulled my textbook out of my backpack. Just as I set it on my desk, Alex sat next to me.

"Haven't seen you in a while," he smirked.

I scoffed quietly, but didn't reply as I pulled out a pencil. The bell rang and the teacher quickly explained the lesson, leaving us to work on it. The class erupted in quiet conversation almost immediately. I flipped to the correct page in my textbook, opened my notebook to a clean page, and as soon as the pencil was in my hand Alex nudged my arm. I looked over at him.

"You're really gonna do this?" he asked.

"I get straight A's, Alex," I defended.

"Why?"

"I want scholarships," I said bluntly then smirked at him. "Not all of us are going to tour in a band."

"You don't know that we will," he pointed out.

"And, you don't know that you won't, either," I argued. "Now, let me do my work." I turned back to my paper.

"Aww, but that's no fun!"

I gave him a look. "I'm going to a concert with you. Isn't that enough?"

He sighed, turning around so he was facing forward. "I guess so."

Yuuuppp. I should not be this nervous.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Call Me Hopeless, But Not Romantic**

**Alex's POV**

_**Wednesday**_

"Check it out, sour kraught."

I laughed at what Autumn said as she sat down across from me in the library. It was our study hall class and she told me to meet her in here. She slid a piece of lime green paper to me over the table. I read over the black writing and looked up at her. "Battle of the bands?"

She nodded. "You should sign up."

"We didn't have this last year."

She smiled and leaned back in her chair. "My friend, Whitney, pulled a lot of strings...but she got it scheduled for Saturday. Auditions are Friday after school. You give them your cell phone number and they call you to tell you if you made it...Which you will."

I smirked, then asked, "Whitney Simmons?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yup." Autumn popped her lips on the "p".

"She's hot." Autumn scoffed then giggled at that. "What? She is," I said as I picked up the paper again. It said pretty much everything she told me. "One cover and one original song?"

"Yup," she said as she started digging through her backpack. "You should do a Blink cover."

"Duh." I folded the paper into fourths before shoving it into my hoodie pocket. Autumn pulled out her math book as I asked, "Ready for the concert?"

"Of course," she said in a 'duh' tone. "Jimmy Eat World is amazing."

"It's Friday night, right?"

"Ha, rhyme." I smirked and Autumn added, "Yes, it is."

"Cool. Should be fun."

Was this, or was this not a date?

_**After School Friday**_

"Good luck at the audition, Alex." Autumn smiled at me.

I returned it. "Thanks." We said goodbye before I started walking towards the auditorium where the auditions for Battle of the Bands were. I met Rian and Jack there, then realized something. "We need Zack."

"I called him," Rian said, shrugging. "He's supposed to text us when he gets here."

Sure enough, Jack dug his phone out of his pocket. "Which is now..." he said, reading over his text.

For the audition, we decided to play All The Small Things and Circles. Autumn chose the cover and we chose which one of our songs we would do. I gave one of the "judges"-which was really our three vice principals my cell phone number before we left. If I say so myself, we did pretty good. The four other bands that entered were really good, too, which made me extremely nervous.

After Auditions Friday, Rian went to hang out with Kara, Zack had to go home, and Jack went with me to my house.

"I don't know if I should or not, though."

"Fuck, you sound like a chick, Alex. You're going to a concert, not a five star restaurant."

I held up my hand behind me, flipping Jack off, since I was still in my closet. I turned and looked at him, throwing a pair of jeans down on my bed. "I realize that, Jack. But I really like Autumn. I don't want to screw this up again."

"You're gonna screw it up if you don't leave in ten minutes," Jack pointed out.

I looked at the clock and realized he was right. "God damn it," I mumbled and started changing.

"Whoa, Gaskarth. I'm right here," Jack said. He was laying down on my bed.

"No one said you had to look," I pointed out, pulling off my shirt and putting on my clean one. It was plain black.

"But you're just so hot, though!"

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks." I threw my dirty shirt at him, it landing right on his face. He moved the shirt and threw it back to me, to which I caught. Sitting down on my bed, I started to pull my converse on. "What do you plan on doing tonight?"

"Probably go to Rian's or Zack's. Maybe come back here if and when you get home. But I'm leaning more towards the if."

I threw my shirt back at him. "Alright, I'm leaving, asshole." I made sure I had my cell phone, ticket, and my mom's car keys, before deciding against a hoodie and walking out of my room.

Jack followed me out of the door before walking off in the direction of his house. "Later, Alex!"

"Bye, Jack!" I called after him, climbing into my car.

**Autumn's POV**

"Kara, I should not be this nervous. Why am I this nervous. It's just Alex. We've slept together for crying out loud!" I fell back onto my bed on my back then looked up at her since she was sitting. I put my hands over my face and said, "What do I do?"

"I would recommend getting dressed. Here," she got off of my bed, grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and a white shirt, "wear this." She threw the clothes on my bed then picked up my converse off of the floor and threw them on the bed as well. "It's simple and not too bad for a concert."

I looked at her, about to say something, but I heard the door bell ring. My eyes widened and I asked, "Get that before my mom does?"

She nodded then walked out of my room. I changed quickly, brushed my hair, grabbed my cell phone and ticket, and then walked out of my room. Kara was talking to Alex and she grabbed her backpack just as I got downstairs. "See ya later, Autumn." She smiled at me and left my house.

Alex looked at me. "You ready?"

I nodded, not sure if I could say more to him since I was nervous, then said a goodbye to my mom.

Was this nervousness good or bad?

_**Saturday**_

"So, what happened?"

"Nothing happened, Jack."

"I don't believe you. Something happened, Autumn. Girls like you don't go out on a Friday night with guys like Alex and have nothing happen."

I looked at him since he was next to me on my bed. "Nothing happened." I turned back to the Harry Potter movie playing on my TV. "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

Jack completely ignored that last comment. "You're lying, Autumn. I know you."

I sighed. "We went to the concert, bought a t-shirt, he drove me home, I fell asleep, Harry Potter was on TV, here we are." I looked at him again. "Nothing. Happened."

"You guys are no fun."

"Noooo, you just thought we'd sleep together again."

"Well, yeah. I was hoping for a story worth listening to. By the way, is Jimmy Eat World good live?"

"They are amazing live."

"Cool. Oh!" Jack reached into his back pocket, unfolded a yellow paper, then handed it to me. "You're coming to this, right?"

I took the paper and read it quickly. "You guys got into the Battle of the Bands!"

He nodded enthusiastically, smiling. "Hell, yeah, we did! You have to come."

"Of course, I'm coming."

"Gonna hang out with your boyfriend?"

I smacked him upside the head. "One more word about my date with Alex and I swear to God I won't go." I held up the paper.

"So, you admit it was a date?" he grinned.

"I don't know if it was a date," I said honestly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Did you want it to be?"

"I have no idea," I replied honestly again.

Jack hesitated then said, "He did."

I looked at him. "Really?"

"Wow. That made you happy."

I blushed, rolling my eyes. "Shut up, Jack."

"You still like him."

"Jack."

"But what about Zack?"

"I don't know, okay!" I exclaimed. Jack looked a little scared. "I'm sorry," I said, calming down. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's okay." He still looked freaked out, so I scooted closer to him and cuddled into his side.

"I love you, Jacky."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around me. "Love you, too, Fall."

"Watch it, Kitty."

He laughed. "I was kidding."

"Mkay. When do we have to leave?"

"About four. We're going to Rian's."

"Why not Alex's?"

"Alex's parents kicked us out," he laughed. "So, now we practice at Rian's."

"That's cool." I felt my eyes start to get heavy, which made me move away from him.

He frowned a bit. "Why'd you move?"

"I was gonna fall asleep on you."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Touché," I said through a yawn.

"That's an attractive yawning face," Jack chuckled. I stuck my tongue out at him and he held open his arms. "Come here. It's not like it's ever bothered me before."

I shook my head. "Jack, I don't want to."

He gave me a look, his arms falling to my bed. "Autumn, we've been over this. I know you. Yes, you do. Come here." He held open his arms once again.

Giving up on denying it, I moved back over into his arms before yawning again. "You're a good friend," I said just above a whisper as my eyes closed.

He smiled and I felt his lips against my forehead. "So are you."

_**Five Hours Later**_

I woke up at three-thirty, my eyes widening once I looked at the clock. I shook Jack, who was still next to me, awake. "Jack. Jack! Jaaaack!"

"Hmm?" he mumbled, his eyes opening just a little.

"It's three-thirty. Come on! You're gonna be late!" I said, standing up to pull on my converse.

Jack's eyes widened. "Shit!" I grabbed my car keys and thanked God that Jack brought his guitar here. He was pulling his shoes on when I picked it up and then we both left the house.

We got to Rian's house at four on the dot. Everyone (Rian, Kara, Alex, Zack, and their friends Matt and Vinny-who I've only met once) else was there. I sat down between Alex and Zack on one of the two couches, ignoring the 'Holy crap, they're both here!' thought in my head.

Alex looked at me, a grin on his face that said he wanted something. "Hey, Autumn...?"

"That sounds like an 'I want something from you' voice."

"That's because it is," Zack said.

I looked back at Alex. "What's up?"

"The van broke down today," I already knew where this was going, "and we need more than one car..."

"Who needs a ride?" I said, but it came out more as a statement.

"I would totally make that a perverted comment, but I don't want you to get mad," Jack said, sitting on the other couch next to Kara.

Kara and I shook our heads, while every guy snickered. I looked back at Alex, my eyebrows raised a little, silently asking who I was driving. "Who wants to ride with Autumn?" Alex announced.

"In what way?" Jack asked.

"I am going to throw something at you," I said bluntly while Alex whispered so softly I almost didn't hear it, "Been there, done that."

I elbowed him in the stomach, hard, to which he said, "Ow!" and clutched his stomach.

"But we only need one person to go with you," Rian said.

"So...who's going with me and where am I driving?"

Two hours later, I was sitting in my car with Matt in the passenger seat. We were currently driving to our school, where the Battle of the Bands was being held.

"So, can I ask you a question?" he asked, the first thing that was said since he got in the car with me.

"If you'll tell me why you're wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt." I smirked.

He laughed quietly. "Mickey Mouse is amazing. Can I ask you my question now?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"How many piercings do you have?"

I did a count and looked at him since we were at a red light. "Sixteen."

"That's a lot."

"Mmhmm." I nodded, turning my gaze back to the road.

"Why's your hair orange?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?" I asked, a smile forming on my face.

He chuckled. "If you want it to be."

I shrugged at his comment. "I got tired of my brown hair, dyed it freshman year this way, kept it that way ever since. What else you wanna know?"

"Are you dating Alex?"

I want to be.

Wait, WHAT?

I shook my head more to myself than to Matt since I was pushing that last thought out of my mind. "Nope," I answered.

"But...didn't you go out with Zack?"

"That one's true."

"Why did you guys break up?"

I sighed. I didn't want to tell him that story yet, even though he probably would find out eventually. "Basically, I cheated on him."

"Wow," he said after multiple minutes of silence and me just driving as some pop song played from the radio. "I never would've guessed."

"Yeah, neither would I," I mumbled.

"What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Wanna know anything else?"

He shrugged. "Can I be honest?"

"I thought you were?" I laughed.

He laughed, too. "I was supposed to ask this stuff for Rian."

"Rian doesn't know?" I glanced at him, but kept my gaze on the road.

I saw Matt shake his head from the corner of my eye. "Nope. He knew something happened, but no one told him anything, but what I already knew...which was that you and Zack dated then broke up."

"And he was hoping I'd tell you the whole reason I broke up with him?"

"Yup." He popped his lips on the "p". I nodded, taking this all in. "You're not gonna tell me, are you?"

I chuckled and shook my head, pulling the car into a parking place and cutting off the engine. Opening the car door and climbing out I said, "Maybe someday, Flyzik."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: I'm Starting to Gather Up My Confidence**

**Autumn's POV**

"And the winner is..."

My hand was clenched with Kara's, the other clenched with Matt's. I don't care that I'd just met him, I was nervous as fuck for All Time Low.

Kara and I shared looks before turning back to the stage, knowing smirks on our faces. I couldn't keep still, bending and unbending my knees over and over again. All of the guys were on stage, pretty much doing the same thing Matt, Kara, and I were doing.

The announcer-who was one of the vice principals-finally opened the envelope and said into the microphone, "All Time Low!"

Kara, Matt, Vinny, and I all smirked as the crowd in the auditorium cheered and the guys went and got their award, which was getting an interview and acoustic performance on a local radio station.

I am one proud friend.

"Autumn, we won!" Jack squeezed me in a tight hug and picked me up. He was hugging me so tight, when I tried to squeal as he spun me around, I had no air to make sound come out. This made my squeal come out as a high-pitched whisper.

He set me down and I wrapped my arms around him tightly. "You won!"

"We won!"

Reactions similar to this one continued to go around between everyone else. Alex came up to me, wrapping me in a tight hug as well. "Autumn, we won!"

I laughed, hugging him back. "Congratulations." He kissed my cheek and I ignored the feeling I had of wanting more than that.

_**Sunday**_

Work.

Don't t get me wrong, I like getting paid and this job isn't bad, but I have way too much homework and I can't get it done tonight thanks to work. Yes. I sound like a nerd. But I have B's in three classes and for me that's not good. If I'm lucky, I'll get off early and can do it then.

Nah, I'll just pull an all nighter or something.

I work at a grocery store and I'm currently putting yellow sale tags onto the regular white price tags. I heard my name to my left, but didn't think to much of it as I looked in that direction. I'm surprised at who I see. "Hey, Matt."

He smiled. "I didn't know you worked here."

I shrugged. "It never came up in your game of twenty questions." I smirked. He chuckled and I added, "So, I doubt you came here to find out if people you just met work here."

He smirked, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm here with my Mom." He pointed down the aisle at a woman who I took to be his mom.

I nodded. "That's cool."

"What are you doing?"

I held up the label maker. "Putting up sales tags."

"Oooo, fun." He smiled.

I rolled my eyes, smirking and putting on another yellow label. "You could call it that."

He chuckled. "So, when do you get off?"

"Um...about five. What time is it?"

He pulled out his phone, checking the time. "Four-thirty. Check that out." He smirked.

"Cool. Only thirty minutes and I'm off."

"Do you, um, wanna hang out or something when you get off?" He shrugged. "I'm bored and you seem like a cool person."

I smirked again, but considered this. I looked down at my black pants (thankfully I could get away with skinny jeans), black vest with a name tag, and white long sleeve button up shirt-all stuff we were required to wear. I sighed. Yup, all nighter it is. Figuring I could take off my shirt since I had a tank top on underneath, I shrugged and smiled at Matt. "Sure."

He smiled wide. "So, um, do you want to meet me somewhere, or...?"

"I don't know," I chuckled, shrugging. "What do you want to do?"

"Matt!" his mom called down the aisle.

He looked behind him and then back at me. "I'll pick you up here in a half hour when you get off, k?" He didn't give me a chance to answer before he jogged back over to his mom. I watched them round the aisle, Matt waving at me, to which I returned.

**Alex's POV**

"So, what happened?"

I looked at Jack, my eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned. "Alex, come on! What happened with you and Autumn?"

I shook my head, crossing my legs as I sat on the couch in my basement. "Nothing happened, Jack."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. Nothing happened."

"Alex."

"Jack," I turned to him, giving him a hard look, "nothing happened. We went to the concert, I drove her home, we won Battle of the Bands," we both grinned at that, "and now here we are."

"You sure nothing happened?"

"You would've already known by now, Jack," I said, which was true. I would've told him the night of the concert.

It takes almost ten minutes for him to say something else. "Did you want something to happen?" he raised a curious eyebrow at me.

"...maybe."

"Allllexx!" He punched my arm, hard.

"Ow, dude!" I grabbed my arm where he hit me. "Not cool!"

"Why didn't you kiss her?" His voice went up almost two octaves when he said that.

"Because...I don't know. Leave me alone." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Jack was really starting to get on my nerves with all of this. I don't know why it was such a big deal to him for me and Autumn to date. But then again, I wanted her to be mine probably more than he did. Fuck. It's me. I get what I want, and she's way too much of a challenge. And we're definitely taking steps backwards here. We hook up, and now we start going on dates. At least, I think they're dates. I sound like such a girl. I rolled my eyes at my thoughts and Jack noticed.

"What's the eye roll for?" he asked.

"I'm. Such. A. Chick," I said.

Jack laughed. "I knew that. But why now?"

I shook my head. "I just have too many thoughts about her it's to the point that I sound like a girl."

"Oh, just ask her out already!" He exclaimed. "Alex, go on a date with her. A for real date. No beating around the bush trying to figure out if it was a date. An actual date where you buy her a rose, buy her dinner, open the car door for her, pull the chair out for her, and kiss her at the end of the night, date." He rolled his eyes at me. "Grow a fucking pair and ask her!"

I blinked in surprise at his outburst and felt like I could only agree to it. "Okay," I said, holding up my hands in a calm down gesture. "Chill. I'll ask her out."

**Autumn's POV**

"So, you cheated on Zack with Alex?"

I nodded, eating another chip from the bowl between Matt and I. We were at his house on the front porch swing. I had my back to the house, my legs pulled to my chest and facing him. A bowl of potato chips sat in front of me, Matt sitting behind them. We were facing each other.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked, pulling his legs up so they were crossed.

I shrugged. "Thought I could get away with it, I guess. It's not exactly my proudest moment."

"I'm not making any assumptions about you," he clarified. "I'm just trying to get why you did it. You were happy with Zack, right?"

I nodded again. "More than I can put into words. I guess with Alex it was a rush. We couldn't even be alone for five minutes without making out."

"Whoa," he chuckled, holding his hands up with palms facing me, "I don't need details."

I shrugged. "I could've gone into way more detail than that, trust me."

"I won't doubt it. So," he ate another chip, "Zack never found out?"

Shaking my head, I crossed one leg and kept the other pulled to my chest. "Not until Alex told him about three days later."

"Alex told him?" Matt's eyes went wide.

I nodded, once again. "Yup. Then he texted me one day at school, I told him I owed him an explanation, we worked things out, I got suspended, we started hanging out again, now we're sort of okay?" I finished as a question because I wasn't sure myself where we stood.

"You got suspended? For what?"

"Fighting Jack's ex after I kissed him."

"What? Whoa, hold on," he shook his head, "you kissed Jack?"

"Welcome to the madness that started since Alex." I took a deep breath before explaining the kiss with Jack.

"So, you don't like Jack?" Matt asked.

I shook my head. "Just Alex and Zack."

Once I said that, I realized that was the first time I'd actually admitted out loud I like both of them. Huh. Look at me. I'm getting somewhere.

"So, now Jack's ex hates you?" Matt asked.

I scoffed. "She always did. But now, yeah, way more than she did."

"And you and Zack are on speaking terms again?"

"Yup." I took another chip. "And I went to a concert with Alex Friday night that may or may not have been a date."

"As far as I can tell and from what I know, it was."

I smirked. "I guess the only way to know for sure is to ask him."

"That's true."

I looked at the time on my phone. 8:00. "Matt, I got to go home. It's getting dark and I have homework."

He nodded. "Alright." We both stood up. "See you at school?"

I nodded. "Yeah." He held his arms open for a hug. I hugged him quickly, zipped up my hoodie, and walked down the steps.

"Bye, Autumn!" he called once I got to the end of the driveway. I waved and started walking home.

**Alex's POV**

I looked at Jack, still on the couch in my basement, and said one word, "Prom."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What about it?"

"I'm going to ask Autumn to prom."

He raised both of his eyebrows in shock. "Alright then. Do it."

"Um, I just said I would. I can all cliché about this, too. I can buy her ticket, buy her dinner-"

"Alex."

"-get her, like, a dozen roses, get a tux-"

"Alex!"

"-get her a corsage-"

"Dude, did you just say corsage?"

"It's the fuckin' flower thing they wear on their-"

"I know what it is. I just can't believe you said it. And you sound like you got this all planned out, bro."

"That's because I do." I smirked at him. "There's no way she can say no."

**Author's Note-**

**And here's the part where I feed you full of reasons for not updating. Well, I don't really have one besides laziness. BUT, however, I do plan on updating more often (yeah, because that's always worked oh, so well). Anyway, let's end this super sarcastic author's note of mine so I can get some sleep. (No school tomorrow, yay!)**

**-Kelsey S. : )**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: There's A Class For This**

**Alex's POV**

_**After School Monday**_

A dozen red roses in my hand, I walked up to Autumn's front door while fixing my hair with my free hand. I took a deep breath and raised my fist to knock.

In the thirty seconds it took for her to come to the door, a million thoughts of doubt ran through my mind. She's going to say no, she already has a date, she's not going to prom all together. Shit! This was a dumb idea. I shouldn't have done it. I should just turn around and leave right-

The door opened and Autumn looked from the flowers then to my eyes. "Alex?"

Despite the thoughts of doubts and my nerves, I smiled at her. "Hi."

"Hey." She looked really confused, but I saw hope in those coffee brown eyes of hers.

"So, I was wondering," I started, "will you go to prom with me?"

Surprise crossed Autumn's face, but she smiled wide and nodded. "Yeah," she answered nervously, which I thought was cute.

I grinned. "Awesome. Um," I held the flowers out to her, "these are for you."

She took them before stepping over the threshold and wrapping her free arm around my neck. "Thank you."

Hugging her back, I said, "You're welcome."

Our embrace ended and I said, "So, I actually have to go to band practice, but I'll see you tomorrow?" She nodded and I added, "Cool. See ya later." I waved a little and turned before walking down the steps. When I looked back, she was inside her house and the door was cracked just enough for her to wave at me. I waved and climbed into my mom's car.

I gripped the steering wheel and rested my forehead against it before chuckling to myself. It worked.

**Autumn's POV**

Once I shut the door, I leaned against it and looked down at the roses. Smiling to myself, I squealed, then ran into the kitchen. "Mom!"

"Autumn!" she called back, turning around from the stove. She looked down at the roses in my hand, confused.

My dad grinned at me from the sink. "Who are those from?" he teased.

My dad was covered in tattoos and his lip was pierced as well. He was skinny, but muscular, and had short brown hair that is my natural hair color. He was tall, over six foot, and had eyes so green they were almost the color of grass on a spring day.

I blushed and before I could say anything, Mom asked, "Alex?" an eyebrow raised.

My mother had a lighter shade of brown, but it was still dark, for a hair color. She had my brown eyes, was skinny, but had the right curves. I was taller than her, but only by about an inch or two.

I blushed brighter and nodded. "Yeah. He asked me to go to prom with him!"

"Autumn!" she said at the same time Dad said, "Awww!" They both grinned and my mom hugged me.

"That's so cute!" my mom said. "Oh, hey." She took the flowers from me. "Let's put these in a vase."

After putting the roses in a vase, getting made fun of all through dinner, and cleaning up the dishes, I went to my room to do homework. But after I shut the door, I only fell onto my bed and screamed into my pillow. I was going to prom with Alex!

My phone vibrating bought me out of my trance and I rolled over onto my back before digging it out of my pocket. I had a text from Alex that said, "Name three colors. Go!"

I giggled and texted back, "Sky blue, lime green, black."

": / I cant use black."

"How's purple?"

"Purple works."

"What's this for?"

"You'll see ; )"

I shrugged that off and decided to text Kara to tell her I needed another dress, prom style. My mother pretty much said she was taking me to get a dress and said I could invite someone if I wanted to. Kara started freaking out because she didn't know Alex was going to ask me yet and thirty minutes later, I got a phone call from Jack.

"YOU ARE GOING TO PROM WITH ALEX?"

I pulled the phone back from my ear, wincing at Jack. "Yeah."

"That's awesome!"

I laughed. "Who are you going with, Jacky?"

"Me, myself, and I."

"That's not cool. You gotta go with somebody."

"Autumn, prom is in two weeks. I'm not gonna find a date that fast."

"Not with that attitude."

"Just let me go alone."

"Fine. But I'll still dance with you."

"I appreciate that."

We talked a little while longer, but I told him I had to go because I still had homework to do and it was 8:30. We hung up and I started doing my homework, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

**XXXX**

"So, this summer we're gonna try to go on a tour...maybe."

I looked at Rian, eyes wide. "That's awesome!"

He laughed. "Yeah. We're excited. Even though we dunno if we can go for sure yet."

I nodded. "I bet you can go."

"Yup. And we need another best friend to help out on tour and stuff." He grinned. "Would Autumn like to come with us?"

"Anything to get out of this town." I smirked and hugged him from the side since we were walking down the hallway. "Thanks, Rian."

"No problem. So, you're going to the prom with Alex?"

I nodded again, not being able to hide my smile. "Yes."

"You're blushing."

"Stop it."

Rian chuckled and was about to say something when we saw Jack. This wouldn't have been a rare occurrence, except he was talking to Madison. Well, more like trying to get away from her. She had Jack pinned against the lockers.

"Madison, leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you!" Jack managed to get out from in between the lockers and her. He walked over to Rian and I, a look of relief coming over his face. He grabbed my hand, to which I grabbed Rian's, and started pulling us in the other direction.

"I swear to God...that chick...I can't get away from her lately!" Jack vented. "Ever since you guys fought." He shook his head and we stopped on one side of the hallway against the lockers. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like it was your fault." He half smiled at me.

I shrugged. "It didn't. But what happened?"

"She won't leave me alone!" Jack exclaimed.

Rian dropped my hand, but I was still holding Jack's. "How come she won't leave you alone?" Rian asked.

"I don't know. Last night, she called me. I deleted her number, so I didn't recognize it, so I answered it. She tried to apologize, but I hung up on her."

"And then what?" I asked.

"Like, what happened just a second ago?" Rian said.

"She pretty much pinned me against the lockers and tried to hit on me," Jack said bluntly. "I can't fucking stand that chick anymore! Then she started talking shit on you," he pointed to me, "so I told her to leave me alone and then you showed up." He sighed. "Why do I have a bad feeling she's just trying to piss you off?" Jack raised an eyebrow at me.

"Because she thinks I like you because she found out I kissed you," I answered.

"You guys kissed? What?" Rian looked at Jack and I, confusion all over his face. "Does nobody tell me anything anymore?"

I sighed. "Do you guys have band practice tonight?"

Jack and Rian shook their heads. "Alex is flunking two classes, so his mom is making him stay home to do his missing work to get his grades up," Jack explained.

"And because if he's flunking two classes that means he can't go to prom with Autumn," Rian added.

I smirked to myself then looked at Rian. "Wanna come over tonight? I'll explain everything you don't already know."

Rian nodded and Jack said, "Hey! I wanna come!"

I shrugged. "Figured it was implied you'd be there."

"Yeah, I'll be there." Rian smiled just as the half bell rang, signaling we only had five minutes to get to class. Rian and I said goodbye to Jack before he started walking off in the opposite direction we were headed in.

_**Gym Class**_

"Hey, Autumn!"

I looked up from my small gym locker at Alexis, a girl I had known since eighth grade. We'd hung out a few times, but weren't friends. More of acquaintances who had each other's backs. I trusted her, she trusted me. Since she was just like me, we kept each other posted about shit that might or might not go down with us.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

She flipped her now bleach blonde hair over her shoulder. Alexis was about an inch taller than me, muscular because she was a gymnast and a cheerleader, and one of the most level-headed people I knew. She was smart, but in a clever kind of way, and that's why I trusted her. She knew things other people didn't because she could piece stuff together and was almost always right about her assumptions.

"Madison's spreading all kinds of rumors about you." Alexis crossed her arms and leaned against the lockers to my right.

That's another thing, Madison was a stone cold enemy to both of us. We hated her, and she constantly found new ways to piss us off.

I sighed, annoyed. "What now?"

"Pretty much saying you slept with, what's his name? Has hair that looks like a skunk?"

"That's Jack," I said.

"Right! I couldn't remember. He's cute, by the way. Anyways," she shifted her feet, "she's saying you slept with him and Alex."

"Just Alex." I shook my head, stuffing my backpack into my locker. "But that's not important. That chick wants me dead."

Thankfully, my locker and her locker were the only ones occupied in this section of the locker room. Privacy was included. I had no problem telling Alexis this stuff because I knew she wouldn't tell anyone and wouldn't judge. Same goes for me with her secrets.

"That doesn't matter." Alexis shook her head. "She's also been telling everyone she's dating Jack again and that you guys fought because you kissed him while she was dating him."

That made me face Alexis completely. "How did you find all of this out?"

She shrugged. "I overheard her talking at lunch. She said some chick in your history class heard you tell Alex."

"So, that's how she knew," I whispered loudly. Slamming my little locker shut, I said, "She talks a lot of shit, you know that?"

Alexis laughed. "Ohhh, yeah. She also said Jack's taking her to prom."

"Ha," I scoffed. "Jack hates her."

"That what I figured." Alexis smirked. "Just wanted to give you a heads up. And next time you fight her, call me up, 'kay?"

I chuckled. "That was spontaneous, Alexis. I didn't plan that at all." By now, we were both changed into our gym clothes.

"Alright, I'll just hang out with you more then. That way, I can be there if something happens."

I shook my head, smiling at her as we walked out of the locker room to the gym. "You're devious."

"I know." She shrugged and smiled at me.

I don't know why, but I had a bad feeling before going into the gym. Something was going to happen, but I had no idea what, when, or where.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Bad Day #1**

**Autumn's POV**

_**Friday**_

Ahhh, Foods class. Why do I have you right before lunch?

Okay, so, Foods is really Home Economics. We get to make food and learn proper table manners and what not. I generally like this class, but, never fear, there is one huge and unavoidable problem. Madison's in this class.

I can usually keep away from her, but when I was walking to my seat, she was talking to somebody three seats down from me. I was well out of her way, able to walk around her, but as I went by her, she stepped back and bumped into me. Well, here we go again.

I just walked past her, let my backpack fall off of my shoulder and to the floor, then sat down in my seat. That's when it happened.

"Bitch, next time say 'excuse me'. Don't just push me out of the way."

Her voice was like needles in my ear drums. I grimaced and was going to mumble a 'sorry', but then, figuring I didn't have a whole lot to lose, I thought, fuck it. I said to myself, "You know what?" I slammed my hands down on the table in front of me as I stood up and faced Madison. "I'm so fucking tired of obnoxious assholes like you thinking they can do whatever they want just because they're," I made air quotes, "'popular'. What the hell are you really gonna do? Kick my ass? 'Cause that worked so well the first time!"

By the time I was done, the entire class was watching this exchange. The teacher was still out in the hall, oblivious to everything since the bell hasn't rang yet.

"Who do you think you are?" Madison spat.

"Who do you think _**you**_ are?" I said. "You walk around here like a queen and everyone has to bow down at your feet."

"Fuck that, Autumn," one of Madison's friends said. She was the one Madison was talking to and, for the life of me, I couldn't remember her name. She had deep red hair and dressed like she was on a runway every day. "You're just jealous."

"No, everyone else is just too much of a pussy to say anything." That caused scowls to form on people's faces as they glared at me. "Yeah. You can quote me," I added to all of them. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and got right in Madison's face. "What are you really gonna do?" I said quietly before walking to the door.

The teacher, who had just now realized what was going on, opened her mouth to send me to the office. But I held up a hand. "Save it. I'm already on my way."

And, with that, I walked out of the room, leaving everyone stunned.

**XXXX**

It only took about five minutes for me to get seen by the vice principal. I've been getting lectured for about thirty minutes non- stop. Not wanting to hear anymore about how I was in the wrong, I cut him off. "So, because I stood up for myself and wasn't afraid to say something, I'm that bad guy?" I asked dryly, crossing my arms.

Mr. Cress blinked at me. "Autumn, that's not what I was saying. I'm saying you could've approached this matter in a differ-"

"What other way is there?" I asked.

"You're language was out of line-"

"And her calling me a bitch was perfectly okay?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean? Because I'm having a little trouble following," I snapped.

He sighed. "Autumn, please, calm down."

"I just don't understand how I'm wrong, Mr. Cress. I know I shouldn't have used profanity-" look at me using big words, "-but...okay, let's say I didn't use those words. Would I still be wrong?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you had no right to talk to her like that."

"Seriously!" I threw my hands up in frustration. "That is the most bogus thing I've ever heard! Are you listening to the words coming out of your mouth? You're contradicting yourself!"

"Autumn, I'm not going to argue with you. You were-"

"She was just as wrong as I was. It's not like I provoked the fight- just like last time. Or did you forget that?" Once again, I picked up my backpack and was about to walk out, but he stopped me.

"You walk out the door, I'm calling security on you."

This wasn't the first time this has happened to me. I dropped my backpack by the door and held up arms out, hands clenched into fists, signaling it was okay to put cuffs on me. "No one's stopping you."

Mr. Cress sighed. "Autumn, please-"

"I don't know what more you want me to do," I said in defeat.

He smirked. "You have in school suspension Monday. I'm also recommending you visit the counselor once a week starting right after this. It isn't like you to act out." I mentally huffed. Yeah...okay.

"And Madison gets nothing?" I asked, putting my arms down at my sides.

"You leave that to me."

I rolled my eyes behind closed eyelids. That basically was a yes to my question. I took the blue slip for in school suspension and the yellow slip to go see the counselor, pissed off that I had to talk to her. I hated her, but that's another story.

"Go. And stay out of trouble."

"No promises," I mumbled, walking out of the office.

Ten minutes later, I was sitting in a chair across from Mrs. Smith, the counselor for S-Z kids, at her desk. My arms were crossed, hers were folded on the desk in front of her. I was currently giving her a cold, hard stare.

Mrs. Smith had fake blonde hair with brown roots coming out, wasn't skinny, but wasn't heavyset, and her voice sounded like she was about to cry every time she talked. It was annoying and really weird. Again, I HATED her.

"So, Autumn, let's get to know each other. What's your favorite subject?" she asked.

I kept the stare, slouching in the chair and my arms still crossed, and not answering.

"Mine was math," she finally said. "I hear your good at math. Pre- Calculus. That's a senior math class, right?"

I just stared.

"Okay... Let's talk about why you came in here. Why don't you like Madison?"

I finally spoke. "Because she's a bitch," I said bluntly and still holding my stare.

Mrs. Smith sighed and wrote a note on her paper in front of her. Probably something about my bad language. Whatever. "Is there anything you wanna say to me?"

"Yeah, actually," I uncrossed my arms and sat up straight. "I wanna say that I hate Madison because she fucked over my best friend and because, I don't know, she fucking punched me in the face a few weeks ago? Please note my sarcasm. I also wanna say how much I don't like you."

"Well, why don't you like me? All I'm trying to do is help."

"You wanna help me?" I stood up, grabbing my backpack. "Leave me alone and let me go back to class so I can maintain my 4.0 GPA. Or better yet," I said, "pay attention to me when I say my friend is going to kill herself. Or did you forget about that? I sure didn't, considering she moved away and I don't even know if she's still alive. You did nothing to help and left that problem in my hands. I was fifteen and had to talk a girl out of killing herself every night for six months. And you don't even give a shit. Fuck you, Mrs. Smith. You're a terrible counselor."

Once again, I walked out of the room, leaving her looking stunned.

I have no idea what crawled up my ass today. There's only so much of someone's shit you can tolerate, I guess. The only good thing about today was that I was seeing Alex again.

**Alex's POV**

"Always, I know, you'll be at my show. Watching, waiting, commiserating," I sang while dancing around my room a little. Completely changing the lyrics, but keeping the melody, I sang, "Where is my shirt? I can't find it. I'm going out with Autumn," then I went back to the normal lyrics, "carry me home." I started singing the endless Na-Na's and dancing around my closet.

Half a second later, I heard laughing and poked my head out of the closet to see Rian and Jack laughing at me. "Bro, way to butcher the lyrics," Rian chuckled.

I shrugged. "I can't find my shirt. Ah!" I picked up the shirt I wanted. "Here it is." Pulling it over my head, I walked out of my closet.

"What are you and Autumn doing on this fine evening?" Jack asked, falling onto my bed.

I put my wallet and cell phone into my jeans pockets then walked back into the closet to grab my shoes. I sat down on the bed, beginning to pull them on, then finally answered. "Movie, arcade, food sometime in there." I looked over my shoulder and grinned at Rian and Jack. "I'm excited!"

"We can tell," Rian chuckled, typing something on his phone.

I fell back onto my bed, looking at them upside down. "You guys have to get out of here."

Jack got up as I did, and I pulled on a hoodie. We went downstairs, I got car keys from my mom, we all said our goodbyes, and I started the car to make my way to Autumn's house.

Damn nerves.

**Autumn's POV**

Leaving school was sweet relief to me. I made my way to my pathetic excuse for a car. Upon getting in, I tried to start it. The engine grinded, by never roared to life. I sighed and tried again, then again, then again after wiggling the key a little. There was one more thing I could try, which was making sure that stupid wire under the hood didn't detach itself again.

Sure enough, it did. I fixed it, shut the hood, and got back into the car. Trying the engine again, it made the same grinding noise. "Fuck!" I said, slamming my hands against my steering wheel. I grabbed my backpack, yanked the key out of the ignition, and got out of my car, slamming the door.

Then the rain started.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I yelled into the rain and outside air. I started walking home, getting there soaking wet and pissed off. Then my eyes widened and I nearly had a panic attack when I saw Alex knocking on the door just as I got to the end of the driveway.

Shit! Do I go in the back door? Do I be honest? Call him and tell him I'm running late and pretending I don't know he's here? Fuck. Fuck. Think, Autumn, think! Making a quick decision, I took a deep breath and walked up the steps. "Um...hey," I mumbled, suddenly overcome with shyness and taking an interest in the concrete steps.

Alex turned around then his eyes widened. "Shit. No wonder I didn't see your car." He took my hand and pulled me under the slight covering of the porch, the sound of the rain echoing around us.

"Yeah." I met his gaze. "If you give me a second to change, we can go."

He nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Just then, my mom opened the front door. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of me also. "Autumn, look at you! Where's your car?" She pulled me inside the house, my hand dropping from Alex's.

"In the school parking lot. It won't start again and I had to walk," I answered, shrugging off my soaking hoodie just to reveal my drenched t- shirt underneath.

Man, am I thankful I didn't wear white today.

My mom hung my wet hoodie on the stair railing and took my wet shoes and socks from me. "By the way, your principal called. I'm not mad because I probably would've done the same thing."

Alex gave me a confused look. "What happened?" he asked.

"I'll explain in a minute," I said while shaking my head. "Let me go change out of these." I went upstairs, going to my room and into my closet.

**Alex's POV**

Autumn's mom smiled at me before taking Autumn's hoodie, shoes, and socks around the corner to what I was guessing was the laundry room. "Make yourself at home, Alex!" she called back.

I stood in front of the steps a second, just thinking, then shrugged and made my way over to the couch to sit down.

Ten minutes later, Autumn padded down the stairs with all new clothes on and a pair of orange Converse in place of the wet black ones she was wearing. "Sorry," she said, taking a seat next to me and beginning to pull on her shoes.

"It's no big deal," I replied, taking in her appearance. It really wasn't a big deal because I'd be doing the same thing right now if I was her. She was wearing a white t-shirt, gray hoodie, and black pants. Not to mention, her hair was still wet, and that reminded me of about a month ago when we had a water fight. "So, what happened today?"

She rolled her eyes, finishing tying one shoe and starting the other. "Basically, Madison and I argued in Foods today, I got sent to the office for it, have in school suspension Monday, she got nothing, and now I have to talk to the counselor once a week," she explained. "But I don't know how well that will go over, considering the counselor and I got into it as well." She zipped up her hoodie a little then smirked at me.

"Can you still go to prom?" I asked, trying to hide all of my hope I knew was trying to show. I only asked because I knew sometimes if you got into too much trouble, they wouldn't let you go to games and dances.

Autumn shrugged. "As far as I know. Mr. Cress didn't say I couldn't."

"Cool." I smiled. "So, wanna go?"

She nodded. "Let me tell my mom." She walked into the kitchen, only to return a moment later. "Ready?"

I nodded and took her hand, leading her out the door and to my car.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: The First Official Date and Preparations**

**Alex's POV**

"So, do you wanna go eat before the movie or after?"

Autumn shrugged at my question and smiled at me. "Whatever you wanna do."

Making a split decision, I flicked on my turn signal and switched lanes. "Pizza Hut?"

"Duh," she said.

I laughed and turned, starting down the road Pizza Hut was on but we still had about three blocks to go. "So, I have a random question."

"Alright. What's that question?" Autumn replied. She looked over at me, but I never took my eyes off of the road.

"Do you have any hidden tattoos no one knows about? 'Cause your dad's a tattoo artist and all."

She laughed and shook her head. "No. Just piercings."

"Piercings people don't know about?" My eyes got wide. I've seen her naked. Where in the hell could there possibly be a hidden piercing?

She laughed again. "No. I have piercings, but no tattoos."

"Ohh. Gotcha." I nodded.

"So, my turn for a random question?"

"Twenty questions? Alright, I'm down."

"Every wonder if something like Harry Potter is real, but we just don't know about it?"

"A lot of the time, actually." I stopped at a red light and smiled at her. "Favorite Harry Potter movie?"

"Chamber of Secrets. Just because Ron's fear of spiders is hilarious in that movie."

I chuckled. "It is."

"I may or may not have read the books, too...maybe."

I laughed. "No problem with that. Just don't tell me what happens."

"Deal."

I turned into the parking lot of Pizza Hut and cut the car engine off. We both got out of the car and I took Autumn's hand as we walked inside. "Favorite kind of pizza?" she asked.

"Uh, pepperoni," I said in a 'duh' tone.

"Well, sorry for missing the obvious," she played along.

I chuckled, dropping her hand as we got a table and she sat across from me. "So, do you just want to get a pepperoni pizza?" I asked her.

"Sounds good. That doesn't count as your third question."

"Fair enough." I smiled. "Favorite TV show?"

"That's 70s Show."

"Good choice."

It wasn't until after we ordered that she asked another question. We kept playing until we, in fact, asked and answered twenty questions. This did take the entire time we ate. I paid, despite her offer of splitting the tab, and we both walked out and into my car. "Arcade or movie next?" I asked.

"Depends. Do you wanna fall asleep during the movie?" She smirked.

"Ha, okay. Movie it is."

**XXXX**

Almost five hours later, I was driving Autumn home. It was probably about midnight. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone I kicked your ass at laser tag," Autumn said, smirking at me.

"My gun was broken!" I defended, hitting my hand against the steering wheel.

She laughed, bringing her legs up onto the seat so they were crossed. "Sure it was, Alex. Sure it was."

I pulled into her driveway, we got out, and I walked her to the door. We stood on her porch, the porch light flickering above us. She turned to me and before she could say anything, I said, "So, this was fun."

Autumn nodded, smiling. "It was."

A million and one thoughts of doubt ran through my head, but I placed my hands on her hips and kissed her. She kissed back, nothing like any other time. It wasn't full of want and it wasn't rough. It was simply sweet and when she pulled back, all I wanted was another kiss. It left me almost craving one.

"Okay, that should've been our first kiss," I said.

She giggled and nodded. "Agreed. I should go inside, though." She pecked my lips. "Night, Alex." I smiled and watched as she turned the doorknob, but once the door was cracked, I grabbed her arm lightly. She turned back to me and I kissed her again.

When I broke the kiss, she smiled. "Night, Autumn."

She smiled again and stepped into her house as I made my way down the steps. I heard the click of the door as soon as I made it to my car just before I climbed into it.

Yup. Definitely working backwards here.

**Autumn's POV**

"AUTUMN!"

I opened my eyes just as Jack roughly landed on me, legs straddling my hips. I was laying down on my bed, just waking up. "You kissed Alex?" he exclaimed.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes. "Okay, two things: How did you get in? And get off me."

"Your mom let me in." He nodded towards the door and climbed off of me as I looked over at her.

"Thanks, Mom. Real nice," I said sarcastically as I sat up, keeping the blankets over my lap.

My mom chuckled. "You know it, hun." And in hopes of embarrassing me, she kissed my forehead. But she walked out before I could do something to embarrass her since that didn't really work on me.

I looked back at Jack, who grabbed my shoulders and said, "You kissed Alex!"

"Yeah, done a little more than that with him, too," I said, pushing his hands away. "And this surprises you?" I got off of my bed and went over to my closet.

"Yeah. It was, like, your first official date. It means something." I heard him moving and when I looked back, his legs were slung over the edge of the bed and he was facing me.

"I guess so." I took the clothes I had gathered and went to the bathroom, changing quickly. I brushed my hair then my teeth and walked back out to find Jack jumping on my bed.

I started jumping with him, but a few seconds later we stopped. "You know," Jack started, both of us still standing on my bed, "next time I sleep over, I don't think I'm gonna stay in your bed."

I gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"Because a naked you and Alex were in it."

I face palmed, but giggled. Then, I hugged Jack, still standing on my bed. "I love you," I laughed.

"Love you, too," he chuckled, hugging me back.

We separated and both of us sat down on my bed, legs crossed and facing each other. "So, are you coming dress shopping with my mom, Kara, and I?"

Jack thought a second, but shook his head. "As cool as it was seeing you in your homecoming dress, I'm gonna pass."

"It was cool seeing me in a homecoming dress?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Autumn, I never knew you had boobs before!" he said, gesturing to my chest. I frowned, scowling and looking down before pushing him off of my bed roughly. He fell to the floor then stood up a second later, rubbing his hip. "Sorry, but you asked so I told the truth."

"Jack," I said as he sat back down on my bed, "I'm a chick. I have boobs. It happens."

"You don't exactly have small ones either," he mumbled.

"Do you wanna get punched?" I asked bluntly.

"Not really." He shook his head.

"Jack, are you coming with us?"

Jack and I both looked up at the door to see my mom leaning against the frame. Jack seemed dazed for a second, but he nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay." And with that, my mom left the room and went into hers.

I raised an eyebrow at Jack. "Care to explain?"

"She's hot, Autumn," he said, defensively. I shook my head, pushing him off of my bed again. "Ow!"

_**One Hour Later**_

Sure enough, Kara, Mom, Jack, and I were all at the mall. We were at the food court right now and my mom went off to get something to eat while Kara, Jack, and I all ate our food from some taco place. Kara had found a dress, the first one she tried on, and it was purple.

"But the pink one looked good, Autumn!" Kara said.

"Kara, I refuse to wear that pink one," I argued. This pink dress I tried on reminded me of the one she almost made me try on when we were looking for a homecoming dress. It wasn't just pink, but hot fucking 'look at me' pink.

"It was flashy," Jack laughed. "But wasn't something Autumn would wear."

I smiled in victory since he was on my side. "Fine," Kara sighed.

"What about black?" My mom asked as she sat down next to me. "You always look good in black."

"True story," Jack said, pointing to her. We all looked at him. "What?" He held his hands up in defense. "It's not like I'm lying."

I shook my head and Kara said, "What about red? It looked good at homecoming."

For some reason two colors I probably would've never guessed came to mind. "What about green? Or, like, a light blue?"

Kara looked up. "Green would make you look like a...leprechaun because of your hair."

We all laughed, but I said, "Not if it was the right green."

"But, like, a light blue would look pretty," Mom said.

I pointed to her, but smiled at Kara. "Yes."

Another hour later I was in a dressing room with, in fact, a pale blue dress on. I heard my cell phone ringing and dug it out of my jeans pocket behind me, smiling when I saw it was Alex. I answered it with a, "Hey."

"Hi. I have a question," he said.

"Okay, what's up?" I replied, tossing my jeans down on the floor with my other clothes in the corner of the changing room.

"What, I mean- well...okay. Are we matching at prom?"

I shrugged, but then quickly realized he couldn't see me. "I don't know. Do you want to?" I smoothed out the dress with my free hand.

"Would you make fun of me if I did?" Alex asked, laughing slightly.

"Only a little," I joked. "Why, do you?"

"Yes," he laughed. "So, what color are you wearing?"

"Honestly? I'm trying to find a dress right now."

"Well, don't I have great timing?"

"Stop smirking."

"How'd you know?"

I smirked. "Because I'm awesome."

"Stop smirking."

"Hey, not fair."

"Yes, it is," he laughed. "So, have you found a dress yet?"

"No. I'm in the changing room right now, but you called so..." I trailed off, hoping he'd get the point.

"Do you have one on right now?"

"Yeah."

"I wanna see!"

I laughed. "No."

"Please?"

"No."

"But, Autumn!"

"But, Alex!"

"Fine," he sighed. "Text me or call me back when you find one, okay?"

"Sure," I agreed. We said goodbye and I hung up, tossing my phone onto my jeans. I stepped out of the small room, walked down the short hallway, and stopped in front of the three people I came here with.

"Yup," my mom said, giving me a once over. "That's the one."

"Agreed," Kara said, nodding.

"Yay!" Jack said. He high-fived me.

I changed my clothes and texted Alex that I found a dress and what color. He replied, "I still wanna see. But good choice : )"

I smiled to myself, realizing how excited, but nervous I was.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Is Bitterness Supposed to Taste This Sweet to Me?**

**Autumn's POV**

_**Monday**_

"Harry Potter pick-up line! Ready?"

"Go!"

Jack slung an arm around my shoulders. "Can I Slytherin your bed tonight?"

I started laughing, really hard. "That's amazing!" I said through giggles.

Jack smiled and nodded, removing his arm. "Thanks." He was sitting next to me on the floor up against the lockers in J hall. It was before school

"What's her deal?" I looked up at Alex, still giggling. He was now standing in front of me and Jack.

"I told her a Harry Potter pick-up line and this was the result." He pointed his thumb towards me as I finally composed myself.

"The Slytherin one?" Alex sat down in front of us with his legs crossed.

"That's the one."

"Nice!" Alex high-fived Jack. "Did you tell her the Chamber of Secrets one?"

"Oh!" Jack looked at me. "Can I put my wand in your Chamber of Secrets?"

I shook my head, laughing again. "No."

"Rejected," Alex sang.

Jack went on. "If I was to look in the Mirror of Erised, I'd see you naked."

"That's genius!" Alex said, laughing as well.

"You're like a bottle of Skele-Gro...growing me a bone." And, "You don't have to worry about me, I've been tested for Hogwarts. If you know what I mean." And let's not forget, "Do you play Quidditch? How about taking a ride on my broomstick?" and my personal favorite of the ones he said, "Wingardium Leviosa isn't the reason why I'm rising."

Alex and I were laughing so hard by the time he was done. I wiped my eyes, crying from laughing so hard. "Jack, I love you," I said through laughter.

He chuckled, "Love you, too, Autumn."

"Where do you get these?" Alex said, finally calming down. Jack just shrugged and then the bell rang.

"Yay, class," Jack mocked cheered before laying his head on my shoulder. "Go to math for me?"

I shook my head. "You won't do my work for me."

"True." He lifted his head, stood up and waved to me and Alex. "See ya later."

Alex scooted over next to me as Jack walked down the hallway. "Should we go to class?"

"You should. I have in school suspension."

"Oh, I forgot about that. I'll walk you, come on."

"Okay." We both stood up and he grabbed my hand.

So, here's how it works. In school suspension is a room in A hall, the fine arts hallway. It's freezing and watched by security guards. Teachers send your work for the day in with you and once you get done, you're pretty much screwed. One of the nice things is that you can sleep. You have to sit in these little cubicle things, facing the wall. Your lunch break is with everyone else's, you get two bathroom breaks, but they do allow food and drinks.

Kids like me actually get pissed off when they can't go to class. But, for the most part, the kids that are in there don't want to be in class and want to sleep all day and don't even do their work. For this reason, in school suspension, honestly, isn't much of a punishment.

"So, I'll see you at lunch?" Alex asked, stopping just short of the room I would be in all day.

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah."

"Hey, wait. Before you go," he said, pulling off his hoodie, "I heard this room is cold. Here." He handed his hoodie out to me, to which I took and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks," I said, turning and walking into the room.

Sure enough, it was freezing. I went over to the desk in the middle of the room, telling the security guard sitting there who I was. Two seconds after getting my name out, Madison showed up next to me. When she said her name, I looked to my right because I didn't believe she actually got in trouble for what happened in Foods class.

She looked so different, I almost didn't recognize her. But when I saw the piercing green eyes, I knew who they belonged to. Except, they didn't have the usual icy glare in them. She was wearing dark grey sweats and a light blue hoodie, flip-flops, no-make up, and her hair was curly instead of perfectly straight. Huh, so there's normal under that mask of a make-up.

Madison half smiled at me, and I could tell by her eyes that it was genuine. Taken by surprise, all I could do was half smile back. The security guard brought us back to attention when he handed me textbooks and worksheets. "You can sit there." He pointed to a desk in the far left corner of the room, next to a guy with a black hoodie and short brown hair.

Silently, I walked over to the desk, set everything down on it, put Alex's hoodie on, then set down in the small seat. Due to the green sheets of cardboard that built three tiny walls around the desk, I felt suffocated, but I could deal with it for the next hour and a half until the bathroom break.

"Hey, Autumn, right?"

I looked around the green wall at the guy sitting next to me. I smiled and said, "Yup. Hey, Cory."

Cory was in my science class. We didn't talk a whole lot even though we sat next to each other, mainly because he's always in here for in school suspension. We talked until the bell rang. I found out he watched me fight Madison and he told me who every one in here was.

"That's Lauren." He pointed to a girl with purple, blue, and black hair on the other side of the room. "She's a freshman and is in here at least once a week. But," he looked confused at the back of Madison's head, "I don't know who she is."

"That's Madison," I said.

"Really?" Cory's eyes widened.

"Yup. I didn't recognize her at first."

"Wow." He bit his lip, but went on. "You know, sometimes I wonder if there's a reason behind how cold she is. She doesn't have a good home situation."

"What do you mean?" I asked, ignoring the voice in my head that wanted to really care.

"Her parents are never home, they struggle to even get food half of the time, and her mom can't hold down a job. Her dad isn't exactly in the picture because he's a crack addict. Last I heard her step-dad tried to...well, rape her." He shrugged.

I blinked, shocked. "How do you know all of that?"

Cory shrugged again, leaning back in his seat. "I'm her cousin. One of the few that see past the bitch in her," he said as the bell for first hour rang.

I didn't talk to Cory for the rest of the morning and finished all of my work before the first bathroom break, which was at nine-thirty. So I took out my book and tried to read, but couldn't get Madison off of my mind. Cory didn't seem like he'd lie about Madison, and the way she dressed today made me think twice about her. Am I really feeling compassion towards the girl who I hate? Was I actually going to try to be nice to my enemy?

Lunch came around and as I was walking out, Madison walked out next to me. I stopped her in the hall by gently clasping my fingers over her wrist, not really sure about what I was about to do. "Madison."

She turned to face me, no emotion crossing her face except confusion. "Yeah?"

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath before answering. "Wanna eat lunch together?"

She blinked in surprise, her eyes widening a little. Pulling her wrist from my hand, she crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

I shrugged, saying only a half lie. "Going to school my suck a lot less if we weren't trying to kill each other every day."

Madison smirked, clearly considering this. After a second, and the hallway clearing out, she agreed. "Okay." Smiling, she added, "You make a good argument." I smiled my response and we walked to the cafeteria together.

Know thy enemy, I guess.

**Alex's POV**

"So, Autumn's in in school suspension today?" Rian asked. I nodded. We were in the lunch line, waiting to get food.

I spotted orange hair walk into the cafeteria, followed closely by blonde. Smirking to myself I thought Autumn must've made a friend in that boring classroom. We got our food then sat down at a table. Jack showed up a moment later and sat across from Rian, with me sitting next to Rian. I watched Autumn walk to a table two rows over and sit down with the blonde girl. I got a good look at her then.

She had curly blonde hair with brown underneath and was dressed like she was having a lazy day. I would be, too, if I had in school suspension. She didn't have any make-up on and, if I'm saying my thoughts, was actually kind of hot and- HOLY FUCK, it's Madison!

"Guys," I said, stopping whatever Rian was saying, "why is Autumn talking to Madison?"

All of us looked over at Autumn and Madison, who were laughing and eating together. "That's not-" Jack started, but cut off as his eyes widened. "Holy fuck, it is Madison."

"That's what I said."

I looked at Rian, who simply shrugged. "Maybe they made up."

I huffed at that. Yeah, right. But I guess it could be a possibility.

Nah. There's no way.

I shook my head. "I don't believe that."

"I'm still shocked that Madison didn't do anything to her looks this morning," Jack said. "She's actually really pretty under that inch of make-up."

Rian snorted, but shrugged again. "Only way to know what's up is to ask Autumn."

**Autumn's POV**

"So, maybe we should start by saying something we like about each other?" Madison suggested as we sat down at an empty table.

I nodded, agreeing. "Sounds fair. You or me first?"

"Um," she said, "I'll go." She thought then said, "I admire that you're not afraid to stand up for yourself and don't take shit from people. Plus, you have a nice right hook."

We chuckled and I almost apologized for hitting her. But only almost. We're not ready for apologies yet.

"Thanks," I said, smiling. "Um, I admire your guts."

She cocked her head, confused. "What do you mean?" Madison asked, eating a chip.

"You're not exactly the most liked person." I shrugged. "I think it's awesome that you can still walk around with your head held high."

She smirked and I saw so many emotions cross her face, it was hard to tell what she thought. I, for sure, saw sadness, though.

"Thanks," she said, half smiling sadly.

"Can I just say something?" I asked. "Honestly?"

"Yeah, sure."

"You don't need all the make-up you wear. And you're hair is pretty when it's curly."

She was surprised, clearly. Finally, she smiled and said, "Thanks."

"Why did you come to school like this today?" I asked before I could stop my mouth.

Madison shrugged. "I woke up late and just didn't have time. I kinda like it, though." She played with the hem of her sweats for a little bit then looked back at me. "I feel...free."

I laughed. "Make-up and tight clothes are restricting."

She nodded and looked to the right. I followed her gaze and saw Rian, Alex, and Jack. None of them were looking up or I would've waved. Madison sighed and shifted her gaze back to me. "Jack hates me, doesn't he?"

"Hate is an understatement," I said, honestly. "Why'd you cheat on him?"

"I didn't."

I gave her a confused look. "But-"

"Becka started that rumor and it got around. The guy she said I cheated on him with didn't even try to deny it."

I studied her face, looking for any sign that she was lying. But I had a pang in my gut that basically screamed she was telling the truth.

"Wow," I finally said. "And he just bought it?"

"Because the guy I supposedly cheated on him with didn't deny it either." She sighed again. "It's not like I wanted to break up with him. I tried to defend myself, basically pleaded, but he didn't buy it." She shrugged. "I would've done the same, if I was him. Every one heard and believed that rumor." Ah, the power of rumors. "I still like him, and I'm sorry because I know you're with him now."

Well, how many rumors are going around about me?

"I don't like Jack," I said, shaking my head. "He's just a good friend."

"But you kissed him." Madison looked at me, totally confused.

"Yes," I replied, "But it was totally weird and just so...odd that it meant nothing. We're friends," I reasoned. "Nothing more." I saw the hope that crossed her eyes and smiled to myself.

What I don't understand is why I don't have any thoughts of doubt about trusting her. My gut was just telling me to believe her. But I knew if I told this to Alex, Jack, Rian, or Kara, they wouldn't believe me at all. I couldn't even tell my friends I may or may not be making a new friend here with an old enemy.

"Autumn, I'm sorry for...everything," Madison said. "It's just...I don't...I don't have a reason for doing anything to you. I saw you as a threat and, I don't know, I just didn't want you to have the possibility to be better than me." She sighed, shaking her head. "I get that you hate me-"

"I'm starting to second guess that," I interrupted. "Confused about you is a better word for it."

She smiled. "I'm sorry. I don't think we'll ever be the best of friends, but maybe we can get along with one another?"

I nodded and, feeling like I lost control of my thoughts, said, "Can people that get along hang out after school? We could re-dye your hair, maybe get you some clothes that don't make you look like a slut?"

Her eyes widened. "My clothes make me look like a slut?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Wow." Madison thought for a moment again then nodded. "Sure."

The bell rang, signaling lunch was over. We threw away our trash and I eyed my three friends that were still sitting at the table two rows over from the one we were at. "I'll meet you back in the room, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. See ya." Shoving her hands into her hoodie pockets, she walked out of the cafeteria while I walked over to the guys' table.

**Alex's POV**

"Hey." Autumn sat next to Jack across from me at our table.

"Autumn!" Jack said before hugging her sideways. "I missed you!"

She laughed, patting his back. "Missed you, too, Kitty."

They separated and I said, "So, question."

"Alright. What's up?"

"Did you and Madison make nice?" I asked, gesturing to the table they wee at a minute ago.

She looked at the table, sighed, then looked back at me. "Getting there?" she said as a question. "We definitely don't want to rip each other's heads off anymore."

"In school suspension changes you," Rian said.

We laughed and Autumn said, "Seriously, though, her cousin was sitting next to me. He told me some surprising stuff about Madison. She lives a really bad home life."

Jack nodded, chewing on his lip. "I remember her telling me some of the stuff she had to deal with. It wasn't good."

Autumn looked at Jack, thinking about something, but shook her head when the warning bell rang that told us we only had five minutes to get to class. "I gotta go," she said. "I'll talk to you guys later." She got up and started walking out.

"Bye, Autumn! I love you!" Jack yelled after her.

She turned around while laughing and waved, but left the cafeteria.

The only thing I could think of was what was so bad that Madison had to deal with at home, and why did it make Autumn give Madison a chance?


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Anything We Have Known, Anything We've Forgotten**

**Autumn's POV**

"So, it's not much and wouldn't even start Friday, but-" I cut off when we got to my pathetic machine I called a car. It would be pretty cool, if it ran half of the time. I shoved my hands into my hoodie pockets and looked at Madison.

"A '70 Chevelle?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

I blinked. "I just got so much more respect for you."

She smirked. "My dad's a car nut." Her gaze dropped sadly, which made me think back to the conversation with Cory, which made me change the subject.

"So, should we go?" I offered. "Maybe it'll start today." We both got into my car and I dug the key out of my backpack before tossing it into the back. "The moment of truth." I shoved my key in the ignition, turned it, and, to my surprise, it started. "Hey, it's working!" I cheered.

Madison laughed before cheering a little with me. We left and drove to my house in silence, but, oddly enough, a comfortable one.

I let this be the time, for some strange reason I don't know of, to piece together the thoughts of what I was doing. I never thought I'd give Madison a chance, and definitely never thought I'd be taking her to my house. I was hoping my mom would hear me out about what I was trying to do, even though I had no idea what that was. But I do know that I'm sick of fighting with her.

Yup, I'm losing my mind.

"So, this is it." I pulled into my driveway behind my mom's car and cut the engine. We grabbed our backpacks and walked into my house, Madison following me shyly. I opened the door. "Mom, I'm home!" No response as Madison shut the door. "Mama!" I yelled, but it was more of a whine.

"Kitchen!" she called back. Setting my bag down by the stairs, Madison following, we both walked into the kitchen. "Autumn, can you- Oh, hi." My mom smiled at Madison.

Madison smiled and waved shyly. "Hi."

"Um, Mom, this is Madison," I said. "Madison, that's my mom."

"Oh." My mom shook hands with Madison then looked at me. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

I nodded and Madison said, "I'll just wait by the stairs," before walking out of the kitchen, shutting the door behind her.

Mom turned to me almost immediately. "What are you doing with her and why did you bring her here?" she asked, confused.

"I have absolutely no idea," I sighed. Then I told her what happened from the conversation with Cory to my thoughts in the car.

My mom sighed then smirked. "Way to be the bigger person." I smiled, rolling my eyes. "She's staying for dinner," she pretty much decided.

"Thanks for getting it, Mom." I smiled before walking out of the kitchen to find Madison sitting on the steps. "Wanna go to my room?" I asked, picking up my backpack and handing hers to her.

"Sure," she smiled.

**Alex's POV**

"Is it bad that I'm slightly scared for Autumn's life right about now?" I asked all of the guys. We had just got done with band practice and were currently in my kitchen.

Jack and Rian shook their heads while Zack just looked confused. "What happened?" he asked.

So then we told Zack about today's events. Autumn had told us what she was doing after school, and I had done nothing but worry. Someone isn't going to make it out alive tonight.

Zack shook his head, confused. "Why the fuck did she-?"

"We don't know," Jack answered. "We do know that she's trying to be nice, but, I don't know, I'm so sketchy on this." He put his face in his hands.

Then I remembered Jack dated Madison and that he was in a daze ever since lunch. "What's up, dude?" I asked.

"The only reason I broke up with her was because everyone said she cheated on me. But she denied all of it, and I wanted to believe her, but I was so confused and I didn't know what to do," he explained. "And then Autumn gives her a chance, the last person I would've ever expected to give her a chance, and then I thought that maybe she's not as bad as I thought or everyone else thinks." He folded his arms on the table, laying his head on them. "I'm confuzzled."

Rian shook his head, Zack rolled his eyes, and I chuckled. Leave it to Jack to make something totally serious not so serious anymore. "Wait and see if something happens between Autumn and Madison." I shrugged. "It would happen to her first."

Switching conversations totally, Rian said, "So, did you get your grades up so you can go to prom with Autumn?"

Jack looked up and Zack asked, "You're going to prom with Autumn?"

"Mmhmm." I nodded, smiling a little.

Something crossed Zack's face, but I couldn't read it. "I, uh, gotta go. I promised my mom I'd be home right after practice." He got up and walked out of my house saying, "See ya guys later," the door shutting behind him.

"What was that about?" Jack said. Rian and I just shrugged as a response.

**Autumn's POV**

As the night went on, Madison and I got to know each other more. We have a lot more in common than I thought, mainly music taste-which surprised me the most. At around nine, I was about to take her home and I had enough guts to ask for her cell phone number.

"Oh, I, uh, don't have a cell phone," she confessed, shrugging, as she put a math textbook back into her backpack. Oh, yeah, I also helped her with math.

"Oh. Okay," I said. "Do you need a ride home?"

"No, I can walk." She shoved some clothes that I was letting her borrow into her bag.

"Madison, I'm not letting you walk this late at night."

"It's okay, really-"

"Madison, no. I'm driving you home." I grabbed my car keys and her hand before walking her downstairs.

"Thanks for letting me stay for dinner," she said to my parents.

"You're welcome, Madison. Anytime," my dad said from the dining room table.

"I'm gonna take her home. I'll be back soon."

"Okay, be careful!" my mom called as we walked out.

Madison lived a good thirty minutes from me, a good forty-five from the school. She told me to drop her off at a block, but I insisted I'd take her all the way home. I could tell she was embarrassed and I found out why when I realized we were in one of the worst parts of Baltimore city, not the suburbs. I was praying my car wouldn't break down here, scared for my life a bit. I stopped in front of an old run down apartment building, feeling awful because I knew everything Cory said to me was true, and I didn't want to leave her here. But what else could I do?

"Thanks, Autumn." She smiled at me. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said before getting out of the car and walking into an apartment on the first level.

I was stunned and couldn't even mumble a goodbye. As I drove away, I felt guilt grow inside me. She had next to nothing, and all I did was make everything worse. On the bad side, I couldn't tell anyone I knew, so I was stuck keeping this secret for her. But it sure put things into perspective.

_**The Next Day**_

**Alex's POV**

Autumn's car wasn't working this morning, so I was giving her a ride to school. I'm currently waiting in the driveway in my mom's car for her. I didn't notice her come out of the house, so when the passenger door opened, I was surprised. "Hey, thanks for this," Autumn said as she shut the door.

"No problem." I smiled and backed out of the driveway.

"So, my mom said she's gonna try to find me a new car that will probably really be a used one."

"Fun?" I questioned.

She shrugged. "I'm excited for it. My dad wants to try to fix my current car. Like, totally rebuild it. And I think that's the main reason."

"Would you get it back afterwards?"

"No." She shook her head.

I laughed. "Awesome." Then, feeling way too curious, I said, "So, what happened with Madison?"

Autumn bit her lip then said, "To my surprise, we actually get along pretty well."

"That's vague."

She shrugged. "We like the same music, we like the same TV shows, and she's just not as much of a bitch like I thought she was."

"Well, you guys hit it off. Do I have some competition?"

Oh, yes. I was in full on flirt mode now.

"Yes, Alex, I'm sorry," she played along.

I laughed and we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. Autumn kissed my cheek as I grabbed her hand before walking in. "Thanks for picking me up."

I smiled, but said, "Stop it, Autumn. You're embarrassing me," playfully.

"Oh, really?" She turned to face me then brought my lips down to hers.

I put my hands on her hips, lost in the kiss. But we broke apart laughing when Jack yelled, "Get some, Alex!" from across the parking lot. Autumn hid her face in my shoulder, both of us still laughing a little as Jack came up. "Aw, is Autumn embarrassed?" He poked her side.

"Shut up, Jack," she mumbled, still hiding her face.

I wrapped my arms around her, smiling because this was cute. "He's a dick, Autumn. It's a typical Tuesday for Jack."

She looked up, stepping back from me completely and punching Jack's arm before walking into the school. "Ow! That hurt!" he called after her, clutching his arm where she had hit him.

"Good!" she called back over her shoulder then pulled the hood to her hoodie up.

Jack grinned at me, to which I rolled my eyes and walked past him towards the school. "I'm sorry, but wasn't it you that said you guys just seemed like friends a month and a half ago?" Jack asked, catching up to me.

"Yeah."

"And wasn't it me who said you guys would make a good couple?"

"Yeah."

"And who was right?"

"Fuck you, Jack."

"That's what Autumn's for." He clapped me on the back.

I shook my head, pulling the door to the school open. "That's messed up. Don't talk about her like that."

"Oooo, defending her. You liiiike her," he sang.

"I thought this was already established?" I turned down the hallway towards my locker.

"Alex and Autumn sitting in a tree-"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

We both looked up from my locker to see Rian walking towards us with Kara. "I'm gonna punch you guys. With the exception of Kara," I said.

"First comes love," Jack went on, "then comes marriage."

"Then comes a baby in a baby carriage!" Kara and Rian sang together.

"Yup, you guys are gonna get punched," I said.

"Except me?" Kara asked.

"Except you." I shut my locker and turned away from them, walking to my first class.

**Autumn's POV**

When I walked into Foods class that morning, I saw that Madison's re-dyed hair was curly, she had little make-up on, and was wearing the skinny jeans and band shirt she asked to borrow from me. But what stood out to me the most was that her "friend," the one that yelled at me the day Madison did, was bitching her out.

"Madison, you look fucking ridiculous. I can't believe this. It's-"

That's when I stopped her with, "Hey, Madison, wanna sit by me today?"

Madison looked up from her notebook with a thankful look. "Sure, Autumn." She stood up, completely ignoring the other girl's stunned expression and sat by me since I had an empty seat next to mine. I knew the teacher wouldn't care, so it would be okay.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it took you in school suspension to realize you were a bitch?" I said bluntly.

She took that comment seriously and shrugged. "I guess so. I always knew it, but I just...needed something to make me change. What I said to you Friday was just a bitch move and I'm sorry."

Once again, I could tell she was being honest. I made a friend with an enemy. Look at that. Man, the tables are really turning.

"I think an apology on my part is due," I said. "I'm sorry for beating the crap out of you."

She smirked. "That's another thing I admire about you. You're blunt." She smiled at me then said, "I would've done the same if I were you. But, thanks."

"And I'm also for sorry for all of the shit I did in response to your shit."

"Fair enough." She smiled then bit her lip. "Wanna just start over?"

"I guess that is what we are doing, huh?" I said.

She nodded. "Seems like it."

People really do change, I guess.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: I Just Need Some Inspiration I Can Rightfully Defend**

**Alex's POV**

"Guess who." I walked up behind Autumn at her locker and covered her eyes with my hands.

"Tom Cruise," she joked before turning around to face me.

"This is not Top Gun."

She smirked and closed her locker then grabbed my hand. "What's up?"

"Wanna go out to lunch?"

Autumn shrugged then smiled. "Sure." We started walking to the doors, but stopped when we heard Autumn's name over the announcements.

"Autumn Williams, please report to the B5 office."

She sighed, but I said, "I'll walk you. Come on."

B hall is the hall with all the offices and stuff like places to apply for college scholarships. They have a room for that at our school. The offices are separated by last name and counselors. Because there's no classrooms, the hallway is usually never walked in.

"Thanks, but go eat lunch. I'll probably be in here until about halfway through next hour," she said once we got to the office.

"You sure?" I asked.

She nodded and then kissed me. "See ya later," she said as she pulled the office door open.

**Autumn's POV**

"First a fight, then an argument with Madison, then cussing out the counselor?" Mr. Cress said, slamming my file down on his desk and collapsing in his office chair. "Autumn, what is going on with you? Is everything okay? I'm seriously concerned about you. You've been in more trouble this year than you've ever been in at school."

"Did she tell you why I cussed her out?" I asked quietly, my arms crossing over my chest.

"Something about a friend wanting to harm herself?"

That's when I told him the whole story, which wasn't a whole lot that you don't know. "When Mrs. Smith didn't do anything, I lost trust in all teachers, and it pissed me off." I shrugged. "So you can't blame me for cussing her out," I said calmly.

Mr. Cress sighed, clearly considering my side of things. "I apologize for that. She shouldn't have done that at all and should've helped you. And I don't blame you for cussing her out, which is why I'm only giving you a detention for this. You're also switching to the A-G counselor, but you don't have to see her unless you need to."

I smiled a bit. "Thanks, Mr. Cress." We stood up, shook hands, he gave me a detention slip, and I left. I jumped when I saw Alex outside of the office doors and almost slapped him. "Why are you waiting out here scaring the hell out of me?"

He laughed, taking my hand and starting to make his way down the hallway with me following. "Because I didn't want to eat lunch without you. We can't go out to eat now, but I did go to the vending machines and buy you a Pepsi and Cheetos." He smiled and handed me a bag of Cheetos out of his hoodie pocket, then handed me a bottle of Pepsi in his opposite hand.

I smiled, taking the food and soda and kissing his cheek. "Thanks. Did you eat yet?"

"No. But I do have a Mountain Dew and Cheezits for me."

Alex and I ate lunch up against the lockers in G hall, which turned into a mini food fight thanks to Jack. I was currently untangling a Cheezit from my hair when Alex chuckled and started untangling another one. "No more food fights for you."

"I was caught in the line of fire!" I said in defense then glared at Jack, who grinned triumphantly. He did hug me, though.

"I'm sorry, Autumn," he said, laying his head on my shoulder.

"No." I pulled his arms off of me and pushed him away. "You threw Cheetos at me."

Alex finally got the Cheezit out of my hair and he snaked an arm around my waist, pulling me to him. He chuckled lightly. "Jack has a Cheeto in his hair, too."

"Awww!" Jack pouted and shook his hair back and forth, knocking the piece of food from his hair. "Did I get it?"

"Yes." I nodded.

Alex laid his head on my shoulder. "Will you come to band practice tonight?"

I shrugged with the shoulder his head wasn't on and looked down at him. "If you want me to."

"YES!" Jack said, sticking his arms in the air and earning some looks from people.

"We're not playing Pokémon right now, Jack. Calm down. No one took your Charizard," I said.

"You took my Pikachu, though."

"You had two of them! And you took my Jigglypuff!"

"Because you took my Charmander and Blastoise!"

"Because you ripped my Squirtle!"

Alex was laughing. "Both of you, calm down. We can play Pokémon later."

"Really?" Jack and I said together and looked at Alex, hope filling our eyes.

He laughed again. "If you want to."

Jack looked at me and I crossed my arms. "You're going down, Williams."

"Just you wait, Kitten. Just you wait."

**Alex's POV**

After band practice and an hour of Pokémon with Jack, Autumn was back at my house in my room, helping me with math.

"What? Okay, hold on." I looked up at her. "You can't have a radical in the bottom?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Why?"

"Believe me, if I came up with the rules, I wouldn't have made it this difficult."

I laid back on my bed and put my hands over my face. "Math can suck my dick."

"Agreed, but," she pulled my hands back from my face, still sitting next to me with her legs crossed, "you have to do this."

"Can't I go without this one assignment? Please?"

"If you don't get this, the whole chapter will make absolutely no sense."

"Will you do it for me?" I asked her, a small smile on my face.

"No," she laughed then let go of my wrists.

I sighed then sat up against the headboard of my bed. "It's not due until Thursday. I'm not doing anymore of it tonight." I closed my textbook and threw it on the floor, along with my calculator, pencil, and notebook. "Now what?" I said, looking back at Autumn.

She shrugged and brought her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. This was when her phone went off, signaling she had a text message. She made a face at her phone, rolled her eyes, then shoved it back into her hoodie pocket. "Who was that?" I asked.

"Jack."

Now I understood why she rolled her eyes. "Oh," I said.

And here comes an awkward silence. Yay. Just what I wanted.

"Alex?" Autumn asked, her voice small.

"Yeah?" I looked over at her.

Her eyes were shining with something I couldn't read and I glanced down at her lips. We were both leaning in and then her lips were on mine. Kissing her was a lot different now. It wasn't as forceful as it used to be. I couldn't explain why, and I won't even try (Rhyme, ha). But I do know I was glad when she didn't do anything to stop me once I laid her down on my bed and let my tongue slide in her mouth.

We kissed for a while, but it all stopped when Autumn's phone started ringing. "That's probably my mom," she said when I pulled back.

I frowned, making her giggle, and sat up. She answered her phone, and I listened to the side of the conversation I could hear between her and her mom. After a couple of minutes she hung up and looked at me. "So, I don't know what's going on, but I gotta go home."

I nodded. "That's okay. Need a ride home?"

She nodded. "Yes, please."

Twenty minutes later, I pulled into Autumn's driveway behind her parents' car. It being about 8 o'clock, it was still light outside, but the sun was setting. "Do you need a ride to school tomorrow?" I asked her.

"Probably," she smirked. "Thanks, Alex. I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed me then got out of the car and walked up the steps to her house.

**Autumn's POV**

Once I got inside, my head swam with confusion when I saw Madison sitting on the couch in the living room. She was across from my parents and when I shut the front door, they all looked over and I saw a black eye on Madison's face.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" I asked, dropping my backpack as I sat next to her.

She shook her head as she started to cry. I hugged her and she buried her face in my shoulder. I turned to my parents, confusion and worry written all over my face. They both shrugged, lost looks in their eyes. "Madison, what happened?" I whispered to her.

She pulled back from me, sniffed, wipe her eyes and winced at the black one, then said, "My step-dad and I got into it. I'll go into details later. But, basically, I left and have no where to go."

This was when I noticed she had a backpack stuffed with what I was assuming clothes and what not. She still had my clothes from today on, though. I looked over, expecting to see my parents, but they were walking into the kitchen. "Hey," I whispered. She looked up at me. "What happened? They're gone." I pointed to where my parents were standing.

Ten minutes later, Madison was done telling me what happened and no longer crying. Her step-dad tried to sleep with her again and, this time, she fought back. Arguments happened, she got punched, and now she's here. She sighed and I could tell she was disgusted with herself. "What am I gonna do, Autumn?"

"You're gonna stay here."

Madison and I both looked up at my mom and dad, but my mom was the one that had talked. "We can't let you go back to that mess you called home. We have an extra room. You're staying here."

I blinked in shock, but decided to try to make the best of this. I nudged her arm a bit and said, "Hey, roomie."

Madison smirked and stood up, hugging both of my parents. "I can't thank you enough for this."

"No need to thank us," my dad said.

"But we are going to treat you like our daughter," Mom said. "Keep your grades up, do some chores, curfews, everything."

"That's completely fine," Madison said, smiling. She looked at me, and I half smiled and shrugged.

"I can show you your new room?" I suggested.

That night, I was laying in bed, trying to sleep when I heard my door open. I rolled over and saw a figure in my doorway. "Autumn?" Madison asked.

I sat up, flipping on my light switch that I could reach from my bed. I let my eyes adjust before I asked her, "What's up?"

"Can you-" her eyes flickered from me to the floor. "Can you not tell anyone at school I live with you now?" I gave her a confused look. "It's not that I'm ashamed of being your friend, or anything. I just don't want people finding out what happened to me."

I nodded. "We can keep it a secret."

"I mean, of course you can tell, like, Jack and Kara and Rian and Alex, but just them. They're the only ones I trust."

I nodded again. "No one has to know."

"Thank you." She smiled and acted like she wanted to say something.

Only guessing what that something was, I asked, "Do you want to stay in here tonight? You seem a little shaken up still." She nodded, a grateful look in her eyes.

Once she closed the door, I turned off the light, and we both crawled into my bed. "Thank you for this, Autumn. I don't think I'll ever be able to pay you back."

I shook my head, curling into the covers. "Don't even worry about it, Madison. I owed you a lot after all the shit I caused anyways."

"I owe you more."

"We're not having this argument," I laughed. "Go to sleep."

"I'll try. Goodnight."

"Night, Madison."

I know I'm taking a lot of risks here, but sometimes, you just have to let life smack you in the face.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Hot Mess**

**Autumn's POV**

The next morning, I could tell people were confused when I walked into school with Madison next to me and wearing some of the clothes I had bought with her. She followed me to my locker and was leaning up against the ones next to it when Alex came up.

"Hey," he said, kissing my cheek.

"Hi," I replied, throwing my history book into the bottom of my locker. I looked up to see Alex glancing from me to Madison a few times, silently asking what was going on. I sighed and shut my locker before being blunt with this. "Shit happened last night and now Madison lives with me."

Madison moved away from the lockers and Alex raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

I looked at Madison, who shook her head, then shifted my gaze back to Alex. "Just...a lot of family crap. It doesn't matter." I took his hand and we all started walking away. "Be nice," I said sternly, looking at both of them.

"Promise," Madison said.

"Okay," Alex agreed, lacing his fingers through mine.

The walk to class was quiet, but not a weird, awkward one. Madison's class was on the way to mine-which was on the way to Alex's. We still had time before the warning bell, so Alex and I stood outside my classroom.

"So, she lives with you?" Alex asked.

I nodded. "Yup."

"She's..." he shifted his feet, "different."

"What do you mean?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"She's just not as mean."

"A lot of shit's happened to her, Alex."

"I know, I believe you, it's just weird." He half smiled sheepishly. "I'm not used to it."

I smirked and then the warning bell rang. "See you at lunch?" I asked. He nodded, hugging me before he walked down the hallway.

In English, Jack took his regular spot in front of me. He folded his arms on my desk then laid his head on them. "I'm conflicted."

"Do I need to be Dr. Phil for a few moments?"

Jack lifted his head, a smirk on his face. "No. But Oprah would be nice."

I snorted then rested my chin on my hand. "What's up, bro?"

He looked around a bit then motioned for me to come closer as he rested his chin on his arms. I folded my arms on the desk, too, and rested my chin on them, copying him. "I think I like Madison again," he whispered. "Well, actually, I never stopped, but she seems different now."

"She also lives with me now," I whispered.

Jack blinked, completely surprised. "What the fuck?"

"Long story short, her step-dad's a jerk."

"Oh." He sighed and said, "Autumn, I'm so confused."

I scoffed. "You're not the only one."

**Alex's POV**

"Alex!"

I looked up from my locker as I felt someone jump on my back. Some orange hair came into my peripheral vision and I smirked, grabbing Autumn's legs to hold her up. Chuckling, I asked, "Are you off your meds again?"

She laughed and slid off of my back. I turned around to face her. She cocked her head to the side and I think she was studying my face. "You know you have really big eyebrows, right?" she asked.

I laughed. "Yes. I knew that."

"Seriously. They're, like, caterpillars on your face."

She reached up to touch them, but I knocked her hand away. "You know, I don't talk about your body parts that aren't exactly small." I crossed my arms and glanced down at her chest.

She looked like she was debating something for a second, probably whether to smack me or not. But she just said, "Yes. Because there is just so much here." She made a gesture to her chest. "But in all seriousness," she made a hand gesture that said 'never mind', "I may, or may not, have possibly gotten All Time Low a gig."

I blinked, not sure if I should smile or not. "What?"

So then she told me about a party a friend of her dad's was having for his birthday. She smirked and crossed her arms, leaning against the lockers next to her. "I may have mentioned a certain band with a certain lead singer, who happens to have caterpillars stuck to his forehead."

I sighed. "They are bushy, okay? Now, where's this party at?"

Autumn shrugged. "Not sure yet. He said he was gonna try to rent out a club, or something." I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, he's got money...and is willing to pay band and crew."

"Who's willing to pay band and crew?"

Autumn and I both looked next to us to see Matt standing there. "Autumn's dad's friend," I said.

"Best friend's, cousin's, dog's owner?" Matt smirked.

Autumn laughed, shaking her head. Then she told Matt basically the same thing she told me about that possible party.

"Sweet!" Matt and I high-fived. "You should take that gig."

"You just want money, Flyzik," I said.

"No. It would be a great opportunity for the band that could lead to astounding results."

"Nice word," Autumn said.

"Thanks." He smiled triumphantly.

I shut my locker and looked at Autumn. "Band practice?" I asked.

"Detention," she responded.

"Stop getting in trouble."

She held her hands up in surrender. "Sorry." She walked around Matt and I, slowly walking away. "But I make no promises. See ya later." She waved a bit before walking away completely.

I looked at Matt, who shifted his gaze back to me. "Wanna go together?"

"I may or may not have detention, too," he responded.

"Flyzik got in trouble?" I put a hand over my heart in mock shock. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I gotta go, though. So, I'll see you later?"

I nodded. "Yup. See ya." I waved and he walked off towards the library while I walked towards the school's front doors.

**Autumn's POV**

"Need a friend?"

I jumped and looked to my right as Matt collapsed in the chair next to me. We were in the library at detention. "Jeez, you scared me," I said.

"Sorry," he smirked then glanced down at the textbook in front of me. "Pre-Calc?"

"Unfortunately," I sighed, starting to work on the math problem again.

"Smarty-pants."

"Shut up," I chuckled.

"No. So, why are you in here?"

"A long, stupid story that ends in me cussing out a counselor." I glanced up at him, but looked back at my homework. "What about you?"

"Texting in class."

"Hardcore."

"I know, I'm such a badass." I scoffed before erasing the entire math problem I was working on, starting totally over because I didn't get it. "You seem frustrated."

I flicked the eraser shavings away. "Nah, just confused."

"Here." He took my pencil and started helping me.

When he was done, I blinked in surprise because I understood it. "Look who's the smarty-pants now." I smirked.

"Hey, math is probably the only thing I actually understand," he said in defense.

"And I think those math skills are awesome. Thank you." I smiled at him.

"No problem. Now...can you help me with Romeo and Juliet?" He started digging around in his backpack.

"Yup. What'cha need?"

_**After Detention**_

"Three day weekend starting tomorrow? Okay." Matt grinned as we walked down the hallway towards the school's front doors. Madison was to my right, he was to my left. Madison had stayed in the library waiting for me after school since she didn't want to walk home alone.

Damn car.

I smirked and rolled my eyes as Madison giggled. "I can't believe you forgot we had one," I said.

"Because three day weekends just happen all the time," he replied sarcastically.

"So, why'd you have detention again?" Madison asked.

"Oh, you know, I got in another fight," I joked.

"She pulled a knife on the chick. She was six-foot-four," Matt played along.

"Sounds serious." Madison smirked. "No, really. What happened?"

"I cussed out a counselor," I answered, shrugging.

"No big deal," Matt laughed, "it was only a school administrator."

"Exactly," I laughed. I sighed then said, "Totally random thought here, but I really wanna watch Harry Potter."

"Good movies."

"I've never seen them," Madison said.

Matt and I gasped and we all stopped walking. "What?" Matt said.

"You haven't lived!" I said. "We're totally watching them."

"Can I come?" Matt asked, a smile on his face.

I shrugged. "I don't care. Okay with you?" I looked at Madison.

She nodded and I grabbed her wrist. "Sweet! Let's do this." I started running down the rest of the hallway, pulling her along with Matt following.

**XXXX**

"Do it."

"No."

"Dooo iiit."

"Noooo."

"Do it, or I'll...I'll...uh..."

I smirked and rolled my eyes at a now confused looking Matt. He was sitting across from me at the dining room table, Madison next to us at the end. "That's a tough decision to make," I teased.

"Just shut up." He crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair with a pout. He was trying to get me to eat a piece of pizza that had beef and jalapeños on it-my dad's and I giggled and Matt leaned forward again, elbows rested on the table. "Okay, fine. You eat that, I'll do anything you want."

"Anything?" I raised an eyebrow.

Matt blinked, taken aback. "Wow. I would not have thought you were that perverted." Before I could say that wasn't what I meant, he continued, "Literally anything." He smirked. "And if you don't eat that you'll..."

"You have to wear a dress to school, complete with heels, and let me do your make-up," Madison continued for him since he trailed off.

"Do you hate me?" I asked her.

She smirked then shrugged. "Not anymore. But come on! You'd look so pretty! I saw you at homecoming."

"But I'm already going to prom Saturday with Alex. I have to get all dressed up then."

"That's different."

Matt looked from me to Madison then I looked at him. "Please tell me you have something different in mind," I pleaded.

Matt crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back again. "I kinda like that idea. You did look pretty good at homecoming..."

I picked up a Dorito and threw it at him. "Watch it, Flyzik."

"He gave you a compliment. Be quiet." Madison nudged me with her foot under the table then asked, "You agree to it?"

I sighed, looking down at the pizza on my plate. I totally couldn't do this, but I wasn't backing out. "Fine."

I only ate about half the pizza before I dropped it on my plate and jumped up, running to the fridge and swinging the door open. I rummaged around a little, finally pulling out the carton of milk and chugging about half of it. "Fuck," I gasped, wiping my mouth and turning back to the table to see Matt and Madison laughing at me. I scowled and put the milk up then went back to the dining room.

"So, I have this lovely black dress you'll look great in," Madison said, a smirk on her face.

"Fuck you, guys," I crossed my arms, earning more chuckles from the both of them.

_**The Next Day**_

To my surprise, I didn't feel uncomfortable in a dress and heels. Let's unleash my inner girl, why don't we? Madison did my make-up and I was currently sitting on my bed, fixing the straps on my heels so they weren't hurting my ankle. I stood up and Madison looked at me.

The dress was all black, strapless, went down to my knees, and the skirt was poofy. It wouldn't look bad with converse, and I almost begged her to put them on, but she shoved heels into my hands and disagreed immediately.

"So, if I do this, you're not gonna embarrass the fuck out of me, are you?" I asked. "Like, this isn't an evil plot?"

"No." She shook her head then pointed to the mirror behind me. "You need to look at yourself."

I turned around, eyes widening at my reflection. "I don't even look like me."

"But you look so gorgeous! And, yes, you do." She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging me awkwardly from behind.

I giggled and pulled her arms off of me. "Mads, chill out. Let's go to school." I grabbed her red hoodie and threw it to her.

School was...weird. I got lots of looks that said too many things and I couldn't read them. When I got to my locker, Jack was waiting there. When he saw me, he had to do a triple take. He slowly smiled, disbelievingly, and looked me up and down. "Shut up," I mumbled.

"Autumn, you're-"

"Don't even."

"But your legs and your-"

"Jack."

"But, Autumn, it's-"

"Seriously?" I looked at him to see he had the same smile on his face and he was fighting back a laugh. "Just because I'm in heels and a dress doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

"But, Autumn, you look so...different." His expression changed to confusion and he looked me up and down again.

"You stare any harder, your eyes are gonna pop out like slinkies." I punched him in the arm. "Stop checking me out, Jack."

He shrugged, his lips forming a small smile. "You look good."

"Doesn't she, though?" Madison chimed in from next to me. "I work wonders." She walked around me and Jack, probably avoiding an awkward moment. "See ya later." She waved then walked off.

"Before we talk about that," Jack pointed behind him at Madison, "let's talk about this." He made a hand gesture towards my body. "What happened?"

"Matt bet me that I couldn't eat a piece of pizza with jalapeños on it, I said I could, but I didn't, and this is what I had to do." I gestured to my dress and then opened my locker.

"Yeah, he totally likes you," Jack said, leaning against the lockers next to me with his arms crossed.

This was when that realization hit me. "Kinda guessed that one," I admitted.

"Can you make a daily habit out of this?" Jack asked, poking my side. "Just for my amusement."

"Are you kidding me?" I pulled the book we were reading for English out of my locker, which was a copy of Romeo And Juliet. "I already tripped four times, almost fell twice, and I feel ridiculously overexposed. My feet already hurt, I feel like I have a mask on, even though I know I'm not wearing that much make-up, and my boobs are being squished to death. And you want me to put up with this on a daily basis?"

He nodded, grinning. "You look like a girl."

I gave him a look, shutting my locker. "Thanks."

"You know what I meant."

"Actually, not really, but what is it about Madison you wanna talk about?" I asked, leaning against the lockers as well.

He sighed. "Is she...different?"

"Well, she's lived with me for two days and I'm still alive and standing."Jack didn't say anything and this was when Alex walked up. "Hey, g- Whoa."

"Hey," I said, uneasy and suddenly becoming shy.

Alex smirked. "Prom isn't until Saturday, Autumn."

"Shut up," I laughed nervously.

Jack rolled his eyes at my girlishness and walked away, mimicking me with a high pitched, "Shut up."

"Fuck you, Barakat," I said, elbowing him as he walked by me.

"Abusive!" he called back.

I chuckled a bit and looked back at Alex, who was checking me out. "Alex, yo!" I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes, making him shake his head to get him out of his trance. "I am not a piece of meat, Alex," I teased, crossing my arms.

He chuckled, but quickly became serious, keeping a smile on his face, though. "You look beautiful," he said, wrapping me in a hug.

I was surprised, but hugged him back. "Thanks."

By second period, I had taken off my shoes and was walking around school barefoot. No problem with that, I've done it before, but the bottom of my feet were almost black by the end of the day. As I thought about this on my way to English, I frowned to myself and stopped for a second in the hallway and checked my foot. But it was still the tan color my skin is. As I looked back up and placed my foot back on the hallway floor, someone said from my left, "Boo."

I jumped, almost hitting the locker next to me, and turned to Matt. "You have got to stop scaring me like that."

He laughed. "Sorry. I can't believe you actually did it." He eyed me a second, making me shift uncomfortably. This was about the fiftieth time it had happened today.

"Hey, I keep my word," I said, starting to walk again.

Matt started walking with me. "But you're not wearing heels."

"That's because they were giving me blisters. Look." We stopped walking and I lifted my left foot to show him the blisters forming on my toe.

"Ouch," Matt said as we started walking.

"Yup. So, barefoot it is."

"No problem with that."

So, you know that feeling you get when you know something about someone and it involves you? And it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's still weird? That's how I feel right now. Apparently, Matt liked me. Huh. My only thought: Why?

"You do look pretty, though," he said, smiling a bit.

"Thanks." I gave him a small smile, but looked away.

Eh, maybe Jack was wrong. Maybe Matt didn't like me. But if he did, this brings up the question, Do I like him?

Son of a bitch.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Damn It, Nerves, Screw You!**

**Autumn's POV**

"Hi, Jack."

"I don't think you can say that on a plane..." Jack let me into his house and led me over to the living room. It was Friday and we had no school. Zack, Alex, Rian, Kara, Vinny, Flyzik, and a few other people that were considered the band's 'crew' were here. I was surprised when Jack also let Madison come over, and she followed me closely behind. Next weekend, my dad's friend finally decided to have his birthday party, and I was here to tell them about it.

"So..." Jack started as I sat down on the floor in front of one of the couches.

Here's how the room went. There were two couches, one up against the window and one up against the wall. A TV set was on the wall in between both couches and at the moment was switched to MTV, but muted. I was currently in front of the couch by the window, Madison sitting next to me-I could tell she felt awkward-Alex was behind me on the couch next to Rian, Kara, and a guy I'd only met once, Evan.

"Alright, cut to the chase, Autumn," Zack said. "What's this gig we might possibly have?"

This was when I went into more detail about this party booked at a rented out club. I shrugged once I said that much and who it was for. "He's willing to pay each of you guys a $100-band and crew. Plus, you get a free meal out of it, and you get to have about an hour long set." I paused when I saw some of the guys share looks.

Alex tapped my shoulder, making me look up at him. "Will there be cake?"

"There will be cake," I confirmed.

All of the guys heads perked up. "We're taking it," Jack declared.

Madison and I chuckled at them when everyone else nodded in agreement. "So, next weekend?" Alex asked.

I looked over my shoulder and up at him again then nodded. "The party starts at six, but you won't play until about nine."

"So, what time do we have to be there?" Zack asked.

"Five-ish."

"This is actually kind of cool," Rian said.

"And, he's really gonna pay us $100?" Flyzik asked from the other couch.

I nodded. "We get paid $100," I pointed to Madison and I, "just because we're helping set up everything."

"This guy is generous," Zack said.

"Nah," I shook my head, "he's just got the money to pay everyone. To him, a few thousand dollars is hardly money at all. The whole party itself is setting him back at least a hundred grand, probably more, and that doesn't even seem to phase him. So, honestly, I'm surprised it's not more."

"What does he do for a living?" Evan asked.

"He owns a car dealership." I answered. "Plus, his wife's a lawyer."

Alex shook his head. "Lawyer and a business owner hanging out with a Hooters waitress and a tattoo artist. Weird combination."

"You're tellin' me," I muttered.

About a half hour later, I was in Jack's kitchen, looking for food in his fridge. I heard someone walk into the kitchen and looked to the left to see Alex. "Hi," he said.

"Hey." I smiled a bit.

Jack had followed after Alex and opened the freezer door. "Yes! We have ice cream!" He took the chocolate ice cream out and set it on the counter before getting him a bowl and spoon. "You guys want some?"

"Nah, I'm good," I said, closing the fridge and turning around.

"I...actually kinda do," Alex said. Jack got another bowl and spoon out before asking me to get the whipped cream out of the fridge. I complied, setting the can on the counter after shutting the door. Alex smirked and picked up the can before spraying some onto my nose and then spraying some into his mouth.

I crinkled my nose, wiped the whipped cream off of it with my finger, then wiped it onto Alex's cheek. I giggled at the look Alex gave me and Jack shook his head.

"You guys are doing it wrong," he said, picking up the can and spraying some on my nose again. Then he licked the whipped cream off. "There."

I crinkled my nose again before wiping it with the sleeve of my hoodie. "Nah, it's more like this," Alex said. He sprayed my cheek then kissed off the whipped cream before licking his lips.

"Why do I have to be the test person?" I asked, wiping my cheek off.

"Jack could be the test person." Alex pointed to him.

Jack smirked at me. "Autumn, you can lick whipped cream off of my body any day."

I smirked and ruffled his hair. "I don't like whipped cream. Alex does, though. Maybe he will."

Alex shook his head. "Naw, he'd like that too much."

"You guys are mean." Jack stuck his tongue out at us before taking his ice cream into the living room.

Alex turned to me then, putting up the ice cream that I assumed he decided he didn't want after all. "So," he shut the freezer door then looked at me with a small smile, "excited for tomorrow?"

"That depends." I stepped closer to him and took his hands in mine. "Are you?"

"Would you make fun of me if I was?"

"No promises."

He scoffed, bit his lip, then smiled. "I'm very excited."

I smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Me, too."

"Now, Autumn, you are doing it wrong." He curled a hand around the side of neck and kissed me, leaving me wanting another one when he pulled back. "See? Much better." He smirked.

"Mmm, is it now?" I crossed my arms.

"What are you two doing in there?" Jack called from the living room, suspicion filling his voice.

"Working on a mass escape plan," Alex called back.

"I want in on that!" Rian said. "You'll fuck it up somehow!"

"Ha!" I said, laughing at Alex before walking back into the living room.

"Autumn, you're mean," Alex whined, catching up to me before I made it back to the living room by grabbing my hand. I turned to see he was pouting.

"And, you're cute," I kissed his nose, making him smirk. "Now come on." We went back into Jack's living room.

**XXXX**

Ever have one of those moments when everything is going so great that you know something has got to go wrong soon? Does something always go wrong shortly after? That's what I feel like is going to happen right now. Life is good, at the moment. Nothing is fucked up or too out of place. Things are going smoothly. But I couldn't help but feel like it was too good to be true.

Later that day, Alex, Jack, Madison, and I somehow found ourselves back at my house. Alex and I had went into the kitchen-I went to get something to eat, he went to get something to drink. I was still making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when Alex walked back in from the living room. "Autumn, come here," he said quietly.

Knitting my eyebrows, I shoved the knife I was using back into the peanut butter jar and followed after Alex. He was peeking around the corner of the kitchen into the living room. I followed his actions, seeing Jack and Madison making out on my couch.

"Whoa," I whispered, but smiled. I knew it would happen again.

"Right?" Alex whispered back. Alex and I shared a look, both of us smirking. We both made ourselves totally visible before I cleared my throat loudly.

Jack and Madison broke apart quickly, Jack just smiled at us, but Madison blushed and hid her face in her hands. Then they both started laughing, really hard, which made Alex and I just chuckle. "You two are having fun," I said, crossing my arms.

They were still laughing, but Jack shrugged in response. I took Alex's hand and we walked back into the kitchen. Dropping his hand, I started making my sandwich again when he moved his way over to my side, hip bumping me. "Hey."

I smirked. "Hi."

"Will you make me one, too?"

"Here, just take this one." I pushed what was my sandwich over to him before getting two more pieces of bread out for me. "Stereotypical thing right there. The girl makes the guy a sandwich."

Alex chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist, giving me a quick sideways hug. "You didn't have to make me one."

I shrugged, taking a bite of the sandwich I made myself. "Just don't expect it to be a habit."

I walked around him to the fridge and he said, "Autumn, don't slap me or anything for this, but you have long legs."

I looked down at my legs that were currently exposed thanks to my shorts that I changed into because Jack, being the huge klutz he is, spilt Pepsi on my jeans. "I know. Track is my best friend thanks to them."

"You run track?"

"Yup." I closed the fridge and went back over to the counter so I could eat my sandwich. Alex was looking down at my legs again so I kicked his shin lightly. "Stop checking me out, Lex."

He chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'll try, sorry." Then he sighed. "Now how come I can never catch you checking me out?"

"There's not a whole lot to stare at," I said. His jaw dropped in fake shock, making me smirk and ruffle his hair. "Kidding. You just never catch me."

"I will. You just wait, Autumn."

"Whatever you say."

**XXXX**

That night, Madison and I were in my room watching TV and talking about prom when I heard what sounded like something hitting my window. Being as it was midnight, I may have panicked a little. "Did you hear that?" I asked.

She blinked at me, staring blankly. "Hear what?"

The sound came again and I pointed at my window. "That! Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. What the fuck?" Madison looked at my window, confused.

Making a split decision on what to do, I got off of my bed and went over to my window, looking down at the ground since I was on the second floor. Two figures were there, and I rolled my eyes at the blond streak I saw in one of the figures hair. I opened my window. "What the hell are you doing scaring the shit out of us like that?" I asked them, talking quietly but I knew they could hear me clearly.

"Well, you see," the other guy that wasn't Jack pulled down his hood, revealing Alex, "we wanted to do something before prom. So come on," he said in the same tone I was using.

I looked over at Madison, who was standing behind me, and she shrugged. "Give us five minutes, ten tops. And meet us out front."

"Bring a swimsuit!" Jack said just before I shut the window.

I looked back at Madison. "Swimsuit?" she asked. I shrugged and dug through the second drawer of my dresser for my swimsuit. Madison left my room quietly, coming back five minutes later. Apparently, both of us had the same idea and put our swimsuits on underneath our clothes. We both had tank tops on, but she had shorts and I had jeans. We got towels, hoodies we would probably need because it was the end of April and nighttime, and quietly walked to the top of the stairs.

I shot a glance over my shoulder to make sure my parents bedroom door was still closed, as was Madison's door and my door with my light off. We started walking downstairs, trying to be as silent as possible-the same when we got to the front door. I made sure it was unlocked for us to get back in before we both walked out, seeing Jack and Alex on the front steps.

Jack grinned and looked at Alex. "Told you they'd come." This was when I noticed they were wearing shorts, or in this case swim trunks.

Alex sighed and I rolled my eyes, taking his hand then pulling him down the steps. "So, why a swimsuit?" I asked as Jack and Madison both followed us.

"Silly Autumn, we're going swimming, duh!" Alex smirked.

"You couldn't wait until daytime? I have a pool and everything," I laughed.

"No, because we wanted to swim at night," Jack clarified. I happened to notice he grabbed Madison's hand.

"The pool at the park four blocks down?" I asked.

"That's the one."

The park isn't closed off at night, nor is the pool that had lights surrounding the outside. It's almost like they are asking teenagers to come here at night and hang out. We got to the pool easily and, after pulling off his jacket and shirt, Jack jumped in. Alex quickly followed, which left me and Madison.

They were having a splash fight when me and Madison stripped down to our swimsuits. We had a short argument that involved us saying, "You jump in first," back and forth for about thirty seconds before I stopped us with, "This is ridiculous!"

Madison and I both laughed, but she offered, "How about we go together?"

"Nah, I think I'll just do this." That was when I pushed her into the pool. She squealed, splashed into the water, then came up a second later.

"I'm so gonna get you for that, Autumn," she said, eyes narrowed in a glare at me.

"Not at the moment," Jack said, swimming up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Because right now, you're mine." He kissed her neck a few times, but she giggled and pushed him away, starting a splash fight with him.

I crossed my arms and Alex looked up at me. "You comin'?" he asked, keeping his eyes fixed on mine. I then became very aware I was just in a bikini in front of him. Umm...

Sure enough, I jumped in and swam over to him. "Happy?"

"You know," under the water, I felt his hands rest on my hips, "I'll never talk this mushy to any of the guys, but you really are beautiful."

I smiled, slightly taken by surprise, and kissed him as my response. He smiled against my lips and deepened the kiss, but we both got splashed. "Jack Barakat!" I said, breaking away from Alex.

"Kissing you would be a lot more fun if you weren't yelling other guys' names while we were in the middle of it." Alex smirked at me and I splashed him as Madison swam up.

"Actually, it was me," Madison said with a smirk. "Good guess, though."

"I told her to do it, however," Jack chimed in. He swam over to Alex and tried to dunk him, but it didn't work. This started a small fight with them in the water.

We messed around some more, but at around three, we decided we should probably go home. Alex and I were trailing behind Jack and Madison as we walked when he nudged me a bit with both of our hands that were twined together. "So, you know we're going out to eat before prom, right?" he asked me.

"Really?" I raised an unexpected eyebrow.

"Mmhmm." He nodded, smiling. "We're going pretty cliché about all of this."

"That's fine," I laughed.

"Are they going together now?" Alex asked, nodding towards Madison and Jack as they were laughing at something.

I shrugged. "If not, I'm making them."

Alex chuckled. "I'll handle Jack, you tell Madison."

"Got it."

We stopped in front of my house and Alex turned to me. "You sure I have to go home?"

"I don't exactly know how to explain to my parents that you and Jack are here." I smirked.

He smirked as well and kissed me before saying, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He and Jack left and Madison and I walked inside, home free. We smiled at each other and whispered our good nights before she went to her room and I went to mine. In bed, I tossed and turned for a while, too excited to let sleep take over me.

Thanks you, butterflies, for making yourselves comfortable in my stomach.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: So Tell Me What Your Best Friend Knows That I Don't Know**

**Alex's POV**

"You know what I think?" Jack said, smirking. "I think that you, Alex Gaskarth, are in love with her."

"Psh," I waved him off, "you're outta your mind, Jack."

"Am I?" He raised an eyebrow.

Was I in love with Autumn? As much as I didn't want to admit it, he might have been on to something. But I'd never let him have that satisfaction. "Yes. You are, in fact, out of your mind," I said.

Jack shook his head with a look that basically said he didn't believe me. He pulled his legs up onto my couch in my living room so they were crossed. "So, is that why you won't shut up about her?" he asked. "Is that why you called her _beautiful_?" He shrugged. "Alex, you love her."

I shook my head, more to myself than to him. "I just like her, Jack. A lot."

"See? Now, you're lying to yourself."

"No, I'm not." Was I? "I do not love Autumn." Jack didn't say anything for a few seconds, just smirked at me. "What?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.

"I never said her name, Alex."

"And, what does the prove?"

"That, even though no names were said, when I said 'you love her,' she came to mind." Jack shrugged. "It was a simple test of your mind. And, by the looks of it, you aced it."

"Probably the only test I'll ever get an A on," I mumbled.

**Autumn's POV**

"So, are you wearing the black one or white one?"

"What do you think?" Madison asked from her closet. "I wore the black one to homecoming, but I'm not sure."

I was sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine she had in her room. "I like the white one better," I said, flipping a page. "It's not like a Barbie dress, but it's so pretty."

She poked her head out of the closet and put a hand over her heart. "I've done a good job. You sound like a girl!"

"Screw you," I laughed, flipping another page.

The white dress that she walked out of the closet with was glittery and very, very sparkly thanks to the glitter. It went down passed her knees and had a bow that tied in the back. Plus, she had white heels to match. Madison took the hanger and hung it up on the top of her closet door before going back into her closet, probably for the shoes.

"So, are you going to prom with Jack?" I asked.

I heard a crash from inside her closet, making me giggle because I knew what I asked had surprised her. She poked her head out of the closet as I flipped yet another magazine page. "W-what?" she replied.

"Are you going to prom with Jack?" I repeated.

"I don't-I mean, he didn't ask me, or anything." Madison disappeared into her closet, but quickly came back with a dark blue shoebox in her hand.

I gasped. "You finally came out of the closet!" I exclaimed before breaking out in giggles.

She threw a dirty sock at me from her floor. "Gosh, you're so immature."

"Be quiet, Mads." Page flip. "By the way, how did you get all your stuff here?"

"This morning when I left, I went to go get my dresses and shoes from my mom's house that, surprisingly, had my room the way I left it."

"Alright, we'll talk about that later." I closed the magazine and threw it on her pillow. "Back to Jack."

"Rhyme, ha." She grinned before she started going through her dresser for something. "I don't know where we stand."

"He never stopped liking you," I told her.

Madison's head snapped around to look at me. "Really?"

I nodded. "He told me that himself." I got up and went over to her dresser, retrieving the strapless bra I knew she was looking for. "You should ask him to go out to dinner before prom," I said, smiling and hip bumping her.

She shook her head, furiously. "No. I-I can't do that."

"You can, too," I argued.

"No, I can't," she insisted.

"Fine. Where's your phone?"

"My pillow. Why?" I didn't answer her. Instead, I jumped on her bed, landing so I was laying down on my stomach, and picked up her phone-an old one of mine that I had given her. "Autumn, what are you doing?"

"Something to make you love me forever," I answered, composing a text message.

"Autumn..."

"Shh..." I glanced over my shoulder at her. "You talk too much."

"I'll tackle you," she threatened.

"Worth it." I typed in Jack's number. Sure enough, she tackled me, but I didn't move except jumping a little in surprise. "This is hot, Madison. Such a turn on," I joked. She slapped my shoulder, but made no movements to get up. As I typed the message to Jack for her, asking if he wanted to go to dinner before prom, she just watched me. When I was done, I flipped her phone closed. "And now we wait," I said.

Madison climbed off of me to stand next to her bed. I rolled over onto my back and she crossed her arms. "I should be pissed at you, but I won't be because I secretly wanted you to do that."

"Told ya you'd love me." I grinned at her.

**Alex's POV**

"See you at prom?" Jack asked as we both walked to my front door.

"Of course," I replied as Jack's phone beeped

He pulled it out of his pocket and read his text before showing me the screen. "That's interesting."

I read his screen, seeing a text from Madison that said, _"Hey, want to go to dinner before prom? ;)"_

"Winky face. Sounds serious," I teased, smirking.

Jack rolled his eyes, but it was quickly replaced with a curious expression. "Should I go?"

"Do you want to go?"

He hesitated, not meeting my eyes. "Kinda..."

"Then go," I chuckled, shrugging.

He bit his lip for a second then quickly typed a reply. "Alright. Now I really have to go."

"Okay. See ya later."

"Later, Alex." He left my house and I turned around, looking at the stairs before walking up them to my room.

Taking a shower went by quickly, getting dressed was easy, and my hair was surprisingly cooperating tonight. Because of all of that, I made it downstairs ten minutes before I had to leave. My mom gushed (typical), and I got Autumn's corsage out of the fridge (no judging), then put on my own (Successfully, I only stabbed myself twice before I got it on). I said goodbye to my parents and left my house, taking my mom's car. _Man, I need my own car._

Another ten minutes later and I was walking up the steps to Autumn's house. I took a deep breath as I felt nerves take over me and knocked on her door, shifting my feet and shaking out my hands to maybe calm me down a little. Much to my disappointment, but slight relief thanks to my nerves, Madison answered the door. She was already in a white dress with matching shoes and her hair was curly. She also had a sliver head band on. "Hey, Alex," she said.

"Hi." I smiled and waved a bit. "You look pretty."

"Thanks. You look good, too." She smiled.

"Autumn ready yet?"

"Almost she's putting on her shoes."

Madison let me in their house and shut the door just as Autumn walked downstairs. My breath caught in my throat when I saw her and I'm pretty sure my eyes widened, not to mention the world started moving in slow motion (I'm not high, I promise). Next to me, Madison grinned while I just blinked.

"Hi." Autumn said once she got to the bottom of the stairs. She smiled and I just blinked more.

"Um...ga...em," or something like that is what I managed to choke out. Madison smirked and walked into the kitchen, but I wasn't paying any attention to that. I only saw Autumn.

She laughed and said, "Wanna try and enunciate?"

_Trust me, if I could, I would_. I cleared my throat and only said, "Whoa."

"That's good, right?" she asked, nervousness forming in her eyes.

I shook my head, composing my thoughts. "You look...absolutely gorgeous," was the first full sentence I said since seeing her.

Her dress was light blue and stood out a lot against her tan skin. Her orange hair was straight and the hair on the left side was pulled back with a blue barrette that had a glittery flower on it. The dress went down to her knees and didn't show too much at all. Not to mention her legs in those sliver heels. Hands down, she was going to be the prettiest girl at prom tonight.

I smiled when I saw the blush that formed on her cheeks, but she said, "You look really nice, too," and smiled.

Then I remembered the corsage I have in my hand. I held it up, still in its little plastic container, and said, "I couldn't resist."

She blinked from surprise and I took the bracelet of flowers out of the small container then slid it onto her wrist. Autumn looked down at the purple, sky blue, and lime green flowers on her wrist. "So, that's what those colors were for?" she asked me.

I nodded, still smiling and kind of surprised she remembered me asking for three colors two weeks ago. "I was getting it when I texted you."

She didn't reply, just wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug that I returned by sliding my arms around her waist. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome." I kissed her temple.

We separated when we heard Madison say, "Awww." I looked up to see she was smiling and Autumn stuck her tongue out at her.

"So, where's Jack, Madison?" I teased as Autumn took my hand in her own.

"He's coming." She crossed her arms and shrugged.

I looked down at Autumn. "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded. "But my mom wants to take a picture of us."

"My mom's gonna want a copy of that picture," I replied, half smiling.

So we took pictures and then left to go to the restaurant. Once we got our table, Autumn was looking at the menu, but I was looking at her. She caught me staring, though, and looked up. Slowly smiling, she asked, "What?"

I shook my head, returning the smile. But before I knew what was coming out of my mouth, I said, "Nothing. You just look really beautiful."

Autumn blushed again and smiled. "And you look very handsome."

That shocked me a little. "Thanks," I said, but was thinking, _I look nothing compared to you._

Conversation always came easy with Autumn and tonight was no different. I happened to notice the waiter was checking out Autumn and couldn't help but get a little jealous. But, hell, she was going to turn heads tonight if not already. I also smiled to myself at that, though, because she wasn't paying the waiter any mind.

We ate and I paid, even though she offered to pay for her meal more than once. She sighed in defeat, crossed her arms, and leaned back once I won that argument, which I chuckled at. About twenty minutes later, we were walking into the school where the prom was being held in the cafeteria. I grabbed her hand as we walked in, where we met up with Jack and Madison in the hallway shortly after.

"Snap, Autumn," Jack said then put on a stereotypical gay guy accent. "You look fabulous, girl."

Autumn smirked and rolled her eyes, but said, "You look good, too, Kitty Cat."

"You have so many nicknames for him," I said. She just shrugged as a response and then Rian came over to us with Kara. We said hi, compliments were thrown around, and then we made our way into the cafeteria.

**Autumn's POV**

"Boo."

I jumped and looked to my right, almost smacking Matt. "What did I tell you about scaring me like that? Stop giving me heart attacks."

He laughed and held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

He was wearing a suit with a red tie, and I wondered if he had a date or just came by himself. But then I got kind of confused at why my brain decided it'd be cool to think that thought. After those thoughts ran through my mind, Matt brought me back to reality when he said something.

"You look nice." He smiled.

I returned it. "So do you."

"So, I'm kind of just hanging out, but save me a dance later? Promise?"

I wasn't sure what to say, mainly because I was still trying to figure out if he really did like me. But, thankfully, before I got the chance to reply, Alex walked up and slid his hand in mine.

"Hey, Matt." He smiled.

"Hey." Matt half smiled then glanced from me to Alex.

Alex looked at me. "Jack's looking for you."

"Oh," I said. "Okay." I looked back at Matt. "I'll talk to you later, 'kay?" He nodded and Alex and I turned to walk away, but Matt called my name to make us stop and me look back at him.

"Promise?" he asked.

I took a deep breath, swallowed hard, nodded, and said, "Promise."

A few more dances with Alex later, one with Jack, one with Rian, and one with Kara, I was walking around as I looked for Matt. I found him talking to another member of ATL's crew who's name I couldn't remember. They were standing by the wall and when I got over there, What's-his-name waved at me. I returned it then I said, "Still wanna dance?"

Matt nodded and I let him take my hand and lead me to somewhere close to the middle of the dance floor. I looked around for Alex, frowning when I didn't see him. But then a slow song came on and I cursed myself, but looked at Matt, who smiled. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his hands rested on my waist as we started to sway to the music.

"You do look really pretty, Autumn," he said.

"Thanks." I smiled a bit and added, "You look really nice, too." He smiled and I glanced around some more, trying to think of something to talk about. Then I laughed when I saw Jack trip over his own feet while dancing with Madison. She giggled at him and Matt glanced behind him before looking back at me. "What?"

I shook my head, still smiling a bit and pointing behind Matt. "Nothing. Jack's just clumsy is all."

"Oh." He paused then nodded. "Yeah. He is." I chuckled a little at that.

_This is stupid_, I thought. I don't know for sure if he likes me or not, so I say fuck it. Since we weren't really talking anyways, I laid my head on shoulder. He rested his head on mine and we stayed like that until the end of the song. And once the song was over it was quickly replaced by something fast paced and poppy, and this was also when Alex walked up.

"Hey, I was looking for you." He smiled at me.

"I was just dancing with Matt." I shrugged.

"Oh." Alex looked at Matt. "Wanna come hang out with us?"

Matt half smiled, but shook his head. "Nah, I'll meet up with you later."

"Alright." Alex took my hand. "See ya later then?"

Matt nodded and looked at me. "Thanks for the dance." I nodded my response before we walked off in opposite directions.

What in the world?


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Reinventing The Wheel to Run Myself Over**

**Autumn's POV**

One hair cut, hair bleach, dark purple hair dye, a shower, forty-five minutes of drying my hair, lots of waiting, and a total of two hours later, I no longer had orange or black hair.

Flipping off the lights to the bathroom, I walked over to Madison's room and stopped in her doorway. "Well?"

She looked up from her math book, but stayed on her bed. Her eyes widened. "Whoa. I've never seen you without orange hair before."

"Does it look bad?" I asked, worried.

"No, not at all. It's really cool, actually." She shrugged then smiled. "I like it."

Today, Sunday, I got my hair cut at around noon. It used to be down to my stomach, but now it was at the top of my chest. Then I dyed it totally different after getting home. The orange is now bleach blonde and the black is now a dark purple. I needed a change thanks to getting bored with my orange and black hair.

With as much as I dye my hair, I'll be surprised if I have any left at age twenty-six.

Eh. I'll take that risk.

"Do you like it?" Madison asked as I sat down next to her.

"Honestly?" She nodded. I smiled. "I love it."

"So...my turn now?" She reached behind her and held up the box of red hair dye (the only comparison I have for it is Dr. Pepper can red) she was going to use to dye the brown hair underneath her blonde.

"I got this. Come on." We got up and went into the bathroom.

After my mom gushed over our hair and me offering to dye hers a different color, Madison surprised me by asking me something. "Would your dad pierce my nose?" she asked.

"I could do it," I said.

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. "Really?"

I nodded. "I did my lips ones. My dad taught me how to do it with a needle."

Madison's face went white. "Needles?"

I nodded again. "That's the only way to do it, babe." She bit her lip, so I asked, "You sure you want it done?" It took a moment, but she nodded. "What's with all this changing ourselves?" I laughed.

She chuckled, too, and shrugged. "It's time for a change."

"If it'll make you feel better, my dad will probably pierce it for you," I suggested.

She considered this then shrugged again. "It doesn't matter."

I went downstairs to get an ice cube that I got a cup to carry it upstairs in. After my dad okay'd me piercing Madison's nose, he gave me a needle, and then I went back upstairs to Madison's room. "Ready for this?"

"Don't you need a nose ring?"

"Oh, yeah." Duh, Autumn. "Stud or hoop?"

"Stud."

"Okay." Then I went across the hall to my room to get a blue diamond stud, her favorite color. I walked the short distance across the hall back to Madison's room. "Ready for this, now?"

"That," she looked at the needle in my hand, "has to go through my nose?"

"Yes. Just close your eyes and put this," I dumped the ice cube into my palm and held it out to her, "on the side you want pierced."

She took a deep breath, picked up the ice from my hand and put it up to the left side of her nose. Doing this Parent Trap style, I lit a lighter and put the end of the needle up to the flame. "Okay, come here."

"Autumn, I'm afraid of needles," Madison said, her voice small and still holding the ice up to her nose.

"Seriously, if you don't want this pierced, you don't have to."

"No, I do. Just..." She sighed then inhaled deeply. "Okay."

"Alright, move the ice." She complied, slowly lowering it and tossing it into the cup. I set the lighter down and had the needle almost to her nose when she turned her head, wincing. "Damn it, Madison." I pushed her down on the bed, straddling her hips.

"Autumn!"

"Madison!" I grabbed her chin and poked the needle through her nose before she could say anything.

She squinted her eyes closed and gasped quietly. I quickly pulled out the needle then put the stud in. "There." I smiled. "It's done."

Madison slowly blinked her eyes open then smirked at me. "This is pretty sexy, Autumn. But I like Jack, you know that."

I gave her a look, smacked her shoulder, then held up the needle. "I could give you an unwanted piercing, you know."

"I was kidding!" she laughed. "Let me up. I wanna see." I climbed off of her to my feet. She walked out of her room over to the bathroom, but came back a short time later.

"I like it." She smiled.

"Good."

_**Monday**_

"Oh. My. Gosh." I looked at Jack just as he started picking up my hair in his fingers. "It. Looks. So. Cool!" I giggled and he walked around me in a complete circle, flipping my hair in his hands. "Purple?" he asked.

"Yup."

"Dude."

"Did you see Madison's?"

Jack looked at Madison. "Whoa, it's red." He started playing with her hair, too. "And there's a nose piercing." He tapped her nose.

Madison winced and brought a hand to her nose. "Ow."

"'Oh, my nose!'" I joked, imitating Marcia from the Brady Bunch.

Jack and Madison laughed, but Jack smiled sheepishly at Madison. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She smiled at him and leaned back against the brick wall behind her. We were outside before school up against the building by the bike racks.

We talked some more and then we saw Alex walk up. "Hey, have you guys seen- Holy shit."

Jack, Madison, and I all laughed a bit at Alex, who was staring wide eyed at me. "Hi," I said, waving a bit.

"It- what did you- oh my gosh." He chuckled and stepped forward to touch my hair like Jack did. "Dang."

"Yeah."

"I was gonna ask if you guys have seen Autumn, but then I saw the piercings." Alex smiled at me. "It looks cool. Extremely different, but cool."

First hour went by quickly, and in second hour we were reading Romeo And Juliet out loud in class. I almost forgot I had this class with Matt, too, but when he saw me he said, "Whoa, it's blonde!"

"And purple." I smirked and took my seat. The desks were arranged in a circle around the room. The seats weren't assigned right now, so Matt sat next to me.

"I can't believe you dyed it," he said.

"And I can't believe you have a Mickey Mouse hoodie," I teased.

"Hey, he's amazing."

Jack walked into the classroom and sat on the other side of me. "Hey, Blondie. Hey, Matt." he said.

"Hey, Kitten," I replied, smirking, as Matt mumbled a 'hey'.

I got out my copy of the play, pencil, paper-the usual necessities for class. We answered questions on a study guide as we read, plus we had vocabulary words. It just so happens we were on Act One and Scene Five close to the end of class...and guess who had to be Juliet? Yup, Autumn did. And Matt had to be Romeo. The way our teacher did this, we had to stand up in the middle of the circle and read our parts. It was kind of like drama class in that way. So for this scene the people playing the characters went up to the middle of the circle as their lines started.

Matt started Romeo's next line, now standing alone in the circle. _"'If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.'"_

That's my cue.

I stood up and faced Matt. "Umm..." I found the spot and said, _"'Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.'" _I don't know if this was supposed to happen or not, but Matt took my hand is his. Hell, I've never seen the play and hardly understand Shakespeare.

_"'Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?'" _Matt continued.

_"'Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.'" _I really hope I'm saying this stuff right.

_"'O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do! They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.'"_

_"'Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.'"_

_"'Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purg'd.'" _Then, without warning and no hesitation from him, Matt kissed 're in a class of high schoolers. Of course they gushed and hollered over that. The teacher, who was a huge play freak, probably would give Matt and I extra credit for "getting so into the play" and "really capturing the moment." I glanced at Jack, who was fighting a laugh, and swallowed hard before continuing.

_"'Then have my lips the sin that they have took.'"_

_"'Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urg'd! Give me my sin again.'" _And just like that, he kissed me again. It got the same reaction as the first one and when Matt pulled back, I glanced at everyone but him. My eyes fell on Jack, who was laughing.

I was so stunned all I could do was whisper the next line, my eyes wide as I looked at Matt. _"'You kiss by th' book.'"_

The bell rang as soon as I got the words out. The class emptied quickly, Matt being the very first person to leave. I was putting my stuff in my backpack when Jack sat down on the desk he was sitting in. "So..."

"I have no idea what the hell that was," I said bluntly.

Jack chuckled and nudged me in the stomach lightly with his hand. "Believe me when I say he likes you now?"

"I never didn't believe you." I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder as I walked out of the room, Jack following. That was a lie. Damn it, I forgot about prom night.

"Autumn..." He grabbed my hand, making me look at him. "Are you gonna tell Alex?"

I shrugged.

"Are you guys officially together yet?"

I shrugged again.

"Did you forget how to talk?" I smirked, looking at him and shrugging again. He dropped my hand and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Does Autumn like Flyzik?"

"No," I answered, kind of surprised at how sure I sounded. But did I like Matt?

"Okay." Jack smiled down at me. "Just checking."

**Alex's POV**

At lunch, I was meeting Autumn at her locker, so I made my way over there. I saw her and her now bleached hair putting textbooks out of her backpack onto the shelves when I walked up behind her. I put my hands on her waist and rested my head on her shoulder.

"You're either Jack or Alex. And, if you're Madison and just doing this to fuck with me, I will slap you," she said.

I laughed and said, "The second person you named."

"Hi, Alex," she glanced over her shoulder at me, tossed another book into her locker, then closed it. I let go of her so she could turn around. She bit her lip then blurted, "Flyzik kissed me."

I blinked as she slapped a hand over her mouth. "Um...what?" I laughed nervously, not believing what I heard.

She sighed. "We were reading Romeo and Juliet in English. I had to be Juliet, he had to be Romeo. We were reading one of the kissing scenes, and he just...did it." Her eyes trailed up slowly to meet mine and I saw confusion, uneasiness, and some other emotions in her eyes. "Are you mad?"

"Well, yeah," I said. She frowned. "But not at you." I reached up to caress her cheek.

She knocked my hand away gently and I was surprised at how fast this hallway cleared out because people were going to lunch. "But you should be."

"Well, seeing the circumstances, I say it's a pretty valid argument to not be mad at you." She smirked as I said that and we were told to go to lunch by a nearby teacher. Complying, I said, "Come on," and took Autumn's hand as I led her to the cafeteria.

We got food, sat down, ate, and as Matt was walking over to sit with us, Autumn took my hand under the table, making me look at her. "Can we go?" she asked quietly.

I didn't know if she was avoiding Matt or if she didn't want me to call him out for kissing her. Either way, I stood up with her and we left the cafeteria. Lacing my fingers through hers, I led her to J hall where we sat up against the lockers.

"So, I have a question," I said.

"Okay." She looked at me.

Taking a deep breath and hesitating a bit, I asked, "Are we, like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Autumn blinked three times at me, clearly shocked, before she smiled, almost out of embarrassment. "I dunno..." she replied, her voice small. "Are we?"

"I dunno. That's why I asked you!" I laughed.

"So, is that how it works now? I get kissed by another guy and then you ask me to be your girlfriend?" She raised an eyebrow, smirking.

I chuckled and shook my head. "I was gonna ask you this one way or another. That just happened for some reason that I will ask him about."

Autumn smirked again then looked back at me. "So, we're, like, officially together now, huh?"

"I'd say so, yeah."

She kissed me then wrapped her arms around me. "Okay."

I grinned to myself before asking her, "Wanna come to band practice tonight?"

"Yeah, sure." She smiled up at me.

**XXXX**

After band practice, Autumn and I were on my bed watching TV. We were sitting up against the headboard and I had an arm around her waist. "These moments?" I said with a small smile, looking over at her. "I like them." She just smiled and laid her head on my shoulder.

We kind of just hung out for a while. We may have kissed a few times (it was totally more than a few) and I frowned when she broke away from my lips and looked at the clock. "Alex, I have to go home. It's nine."

"Nooo." I hugged her, nuzzling my nose in her neck. "Stay here with me."

"I can't," she laughed. "Alex, let me go."

"No." I kissed her neck a few times.

"Alex!" she laughed, pushing me away by my shoulders. I pouted at her, to which she shook her head with a smile. "Dude, I'm gonna see you in not even twelve hours from now."

"That doesn't make me not want you to go."

"But I have to." She pecked my lips before turning around to put on her shoes.

"Do you need a ride home?" I asked.

Autumn shook her head. "I drove, remember?"

"Yeah, but your car isn't exactly in the best condition," I laughed.

She scoffed. "It should be okay." Since she was finished with her shoes, she turned again around to face me. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

I nodded. "I'll walk you out."

I walked her out of my house and to her car. Before she got in, I hugged her, pecking her lips once pulling back. "Bye, Autumn. See you later."

"Bye." She climbed into her car that started, shockingly. I watched her back out of the driveway and until she got to the end of the street. I couldn't help but grin to myself as I walked back into my house, chuckling once I got to my room because I still couldn't really wrap my head around the fact that she was my girlfriend.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: You're Just a Train Wreck, Not a Winner  
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**Autumn's POV**

Wednesday went by quickly, especially with track try outs for next year. So did Thursday, and on Friday when I went to school I had a gym bag over my shoulder thanks to P.E. Madison went to her locker once we got inside, which left me to go find the bulletin board right smack in the middle of G hall to see if I made the team, and I was sure I did.

I made the short walk and looked for the list that said TRACK TEAM. Sure enough, at the bottom of the list (thanks, parents for having a last name that starts with a W) was my name in big bold letters. Written in pencil next to it was "see bottom left" in parenthesis. My eyes trailed down to the designated corner to reveal a question. In the same penciled hand writing, it said:

_Will you go out with me? -Matt F_

Say whaaat?

"Will you?" I heard from behind me. I spun around to see Matt standing there with a rose in his hands and a small, nervous smile on his lips. I took a short, but deep breath and was about to say something, but Matt's face fell. "Never mind. I know that look." The rose lowered to his side and his gaze fell to the floor. "I'll, um-"

"Wait. Matt." But I was too late because he was already walking away, tossing the rose in the trashcan by the window as he went. I looked back at the bulletin board and happened to notice something as I looked at it. "Oh. My. Gosh," I whispered to myself as I read nearly every one of my secrets, some not exactly my proudest moments. I looked around and noticed the same pink papers were everywhere. It was like in Mean Girls when Regina threw copies of the Burn Book all around school.

Holy shit.

**Alex's POV  
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That morning, I met Autumn in G hall to see if she made the track team. When I walked up to her, she looked stunned and uncomfortable. "Hey."

Autumn jumped and looked at me, swallowing hard. "Alex."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, her eyes darting around the hallway. What the fuck is with all these pink papers everywhere? "I just- I gotta-" She didn't finish her sentence before she walked around me then broke into a run down the hallway. I lost sight of her once she turned a corner.

Damn. No wonder she's on the track team.

Speaking of, did she make it? I looked back at the bulletin board to my left, but saw my own name on a paper to the right. As I read it, my eyes widened once I realized it was basically what went down between me and her before we started dating. Every other paper had something from what she did with a guy to why Madison was living with her. And then it dawned on me that's what all the pink papers were.

Then I got pissed off. My first assumption was Madison, but why would she put her own problems on blast? I snapped out of my thoughts and dug my phone out of my pocket, dialing Jack's number as I made my way back down G hall to the main entrance in hopes of finding Autumn.

"Hello?" Jack answered, sounding out of breath. I was either being a cock block or he was running late.

"Dude, you gotta get to school." If my stuff, and Madison's, was all over the walls and floors, that meant Jack's was, too. Fuck, what about Rian and Kara?

Jack yawned, but said, "Why, what's wrong?" Cool, I'm not being a cock block.

"I can't really explain. Just- Where are you?"

"About a block away. I had to walk. Why?"

"Because you have to get to school as soon as you can!" I almost screamed. "Focus, Jack!"

"Okay! I'm almost there. Calm down! Meet me outside."

"Okay. Hurry."

Jack must've jogged the rest of the way because he showed up about thirty seconds later. "Okay, so what's up?" he asked.

"Come on." I turned, starting to walk into the school, Jack following me.

Once we got inside, he looked at me. "What's with all the pink papers?" he asked. I picked up a few that were on the floor next to me then showed them to Jack. It took a minute, but as he read over all of them, so many emotions crossed his face. "What the fuck? Who did this?"

"I have no idea," was all I replied.

"We have to get rid of them."

"Yup."

Jack sighed. "Up for some damage control?"

"Not really. But Autumn's my girlfriend, so if she goes down, I'm going down with her."

"That sounds like a sex thing."

I punched him in the stomach. "Just start picking up the papers!"

**Autumn's POV  
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And I thought high school was hell before today. I must've been fucking crazy.

I had spent all morning hiding in a tree in the corner of the courtyard. Every secret I've ever kept was all of the sudden all over school. I didn't care who did it, I just wanted to not be exposed like that. My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it, once again. It was one of six people: Alex, Jack, Rian, Kara, Madison, or my mom. My mom probably wants to know why I'm not in school, and the other five people probably hate me for their secrets being out. Either way, I was now the school's most outed outcast.

"You seriously think you can just ignore my texts all morning?"

I looked down at the ground, seeing Jack standing there with his arms crossed. "That was the plan," I said.

"Come on, Autumn. Come down."

Well, I literally have nothing to lose. I slowly made my way down to the ground then stood in front of Jack. "How did you know where I was?"

"I'm your best friend and this is where you come when you're upset at school."

"So, I take it, you're pissed at me because your secrets are out, too?"

Jack shook his head. "Mine aren't out that people didn't already know. I mean, people knew I kissed you. Big deal, I kissed you."

If I wasn't so upset, I'd be a smart ass to that. Instead, I just sighed. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," he replied, honestly. "But it wasn't a lot of stuff people didn't know. I mean, I knew you gave Jared head when you were drunk at a party last year, I knew everything that happened with Alex...," he said, trailing off and using the examples that I saw this morning.

I picked up my backpack from behind a bush next to the tree before walking off towards the parking lot. "Thanks for making me relive my proudest moments, Jack."

"Autumn..." He quickly caught up to me. "I was just saying that people knew most of that shit, or at least heard rumors about it."

Still walking towards the parking lot, I decided I'd switch subjects completely. "Matt asked me out this morning."

"What? When?"

I shrugged. "He wrote it down on the track team listing."

"What'd you say?"

"I didn't get the chance to reply before he walked away. And now I'm guessing it's because he read the pink papers surrounding me." I looked at Jack, tears filling my eyes. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Jack looked genuinely shocked. I've only cried in front of him once and that was back when I met him, but that's another story. He stopped us from walking and wrapped me in a tight hug. "Autumn, please don't cry."

"Easier said than done," I mumbled, wrapping my arms limply around him.

"Alex, Rian, Kara, Madison, and I have been picking up papers all day. Pulling them off walls and lockers, ripping them out of people's hands. We still love you, Autumn."

"But your stuff is out, too."

"But we know it's not your fault, and only the stuff that involves you is out. So, Rian and Kara don't have anything."

"Who did it?"

Jack shrugged, still holding me in his arms. "Alex thinks it might've been Madison."

"But her secrets are out, too," I said. It kind of does make sense, though. Get me on her side then sabotage my life to make me look like the bad guy. But, please, don't let it be her.

"But she could've done that to make it less suspicious. Look, she's my girlfriend, so I don't want to believe it either. I wouldn't eliminate anybody. For all you know, it could've been me."

I snorted. "Jack, you didn't know half the shit that was printed on those papers."

"I know, but I do now. By the way, who's Kyle?"

"He doesn't go here anymore. It's not important." I pulled back from him, wiping my eyes. "What do I do?"

Jack shrugged again. "Walk into school like you own the place? Right now, it's like jail. You gotta go in and make everyone your bitch." I laughed lightly and he smiled. "I'll be right there with you?" He offered me his hand.

I took a deep breath, but slid my fingers through his. "Okay. Where's Alex?"

"Waiting inside for me and, what was at the time, possibly you." He started leading me back towards the courtyard doors. "It's lunch time now, though."

"Why's no one outside?"

"Because the bell hasn't rung yet."

I mouthed an O and Jack pulled open the door, which, sure enough, revealed a waiting Alex. He hugged me, but I never let go of Jack's hand, mainly because I was afraid he'd run. "Are you okay?" Alex whispered in my ear. I nodded and he let me go, grabbing my other hand just as the bell rang.

"Ready for this?" Jack asked.

"I don't know yet," I replied as students started coming out of classrooms.

That was when it got weird. The usual loudness of hallways turned freakily quiet as kids saw me. People stopped, some scoffed and walked on, some guys gave me creepy child molester looks, others laughed. I hid behind Alex, even though it didn't help a whole lot, more tears filling my eyes. It's safe to say I feel exposed and a little scared.

Alex looked over his shoulder at me and Jack squeezed my hand. "It's fine," Alex said, pecking my forehead. "Just ignore them."

"It's not that easy, Alex," I said. I guess a little too loudly, too, because I heard a, "No, but you are," to my left.

I sighed. It wasn't anything more than a few things a girlfriend would do with her boyfriend, I told myself. But that was bullshit. I wasn't exactly the most innocent girl at this school.

Alex, Jack, and I started walking towards the cafeteria. Comments like, "whore," "slut," "bitch," and, "tease," were thrown my way. I could handle that, but the next comment is what broke me, even though it wasn't really much.

"She's probably fucking the two of them," someone said from behind me. And that was all it took. I dropped Alex and Jack's hands and turned and ran in the opposite direction, ignoring their shouts of my name as I took off down the hallway and out the front doors. All I did was take a few steps to the patch of grass on the side then just fell to my knees up against the wall with my face in my hands. I sobbed and moved so I was sitting with my legs pulled to my chest, my arms wrapped around them and my face laying against my arms.

I heard footsteps after a few minutes and they got closer before the person sat next to me.  
>"Autumn?"<p>

I wiped my eyes and looked up, seeing, to my surprise, Matt. I sniffed and looked down at my knees, mumbling a, "Hey."

"So, why the tears?"

"You didn't see the pink papers everywhere?" I sniffed again, shifting my gaze to the grass underneath me.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I read them."

I met his gaze then smirked after a second. "You sure you wanna talk to the school whore?"

He smirked and shook his head. "You think you're having a bad day?" He crossed his legs. "I put myself out there and asked the girl I like out. Turns out, she has a boyfriend and I didn't know it. Oh! And she's now the school's newest fascination."

I smirked. "Well, you should just give up on her. She's a real bitch." I looked at the parking lot in the distance. "But if you wait about two weeks, she might break up with Alex and sleep with you." I turned back to Matt. "At least that's what the rumors say."

He nudged me with his shoulder, now smiling out of amusement. "I wouldn't use her like that."

I had to smile at that. How could I not? But it was a sad smile. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now would you just go in there and tell everyone to fuck off so we can figure out who did this to you?" he asked, standing up and helping me up with him.

"You mean after I led you on AND shot you down, you're still gonna help me?"

Matt shrugged. "I still think of you as at least a friend, and I hope you think the same?" he trailed off as a question, uneasy.

I shrugged. "I do. But I figured you'd hate me." I started following him back towards the front doors.

"Autumn, seriously, I like you. Let's be honest, it's hard to hate someone you like."

"Agreed," I sighed as we stopped in front of the doors. I looked them over as Matt said something.

"I'd offer you my hand, but I feel like that would be awkward for you."

I giggled, wiping my eyes again. "Just lead the way."

"That I can do."

I followed Matt back into school, not letting myself look vulnerable, even though in reality I was. I guess some of the situation dissipated a little because people didn't say as many mean things, but they did stare...a lot. I just walked with Matt silently to the cafeteria, where he led me over to Jack, Alex, Rian, Kara, and Madison. Matt sat down across from me as I sat next to Alex, who instantly put an arm over my waist.

"You okay?" he asked. I just shrugged. I didn't really know, myself.

"Okay, so," Kara started, "we're gonna find out who did this, right?"

This made me think Jack had a point about Madison. I shrugged and looked pointedly at Madison. "I dunno. Are we?"

Alex, Rian, Jack, Kara, and Matt all looked at Madison, who furrowed her eyebrows at me. "You really think I did this to you? Autumn, I didn't even know half the shit on those papers. I mean, I know we've had a few spill our guts moments, but not enough for all of that."

I sighed and frowned. "I'm sorry. I just- I'm just pissed off and feel so exposed it's like I'm walking around naked." I wrapped my arms around myself and Alex's tightened.

Madison shrugged. "No big deal. I'd be pissed, too, and I don't blame you for jumping to conclusions and saying it was me, given our history." She slammed her hands down on the table, but laughed a bit as she said, "Seriously, Autumn? You've helped me more than anyone has my whole life. I wouldn't give that up for anything."

I half smiled then said, "So, now what?"

"I say we ask around. See if anyone knew anything," Rian said.

"But the people that are behind it aren't going to say anything to us. They know we're friends with Autumn," Matt pointed out.

Alex shook his head at that. "Haven't you ever heard the saying 'Loose lips sink ships'?" He slammed the hand that wasn't holding my hip on the table. "I'll bet on all of our lives," he made a circle with his finger in the air in the middle of us, "that the person behind it told somebody. And I think it was one of your ex-friends." He pointed at Madison.

Madison nodded, agreeing. "I don't exactly have something to bet on, but I'll bet that it was, too."

"So, then, where do we start?" I asked.

**Author's Note-**

**It's been forever and a day since I've updated…and I'm watching Spider-Man as I type this. So, anyway, my computer broke and I had to buy a new one. I've been trying to get my files transferred over, and I had to set up iTunes again. Plus, I am in high school; there is a good amount of work. But while my computer was broke, I still wrote on my iPod. So, I should be updating regularly again.**

**Hope you understand, and thanks for reading. : )**

**-Kelsey**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: Guilty Pleasure for You**

**Autumn's POV**

"But you're okay, though, right?"

I nodded at Alex, pecking his lips. "I'm fine." I kissed him again, more forceful this time. He responded the same, but put his hands on my hips and pushed me back from him.

"You sure?" he asked for the fourth time today.

I took his face in my hands and looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm okay. Yeah, school is going to suck for a while, but it'll all work out in the end. And the principals are on my side, remember?"

During last hour today, I got called into the office regarding those stupid pink papers. They said they would do everything they could to find out what happened (if there's anything our school takes seriously, it's bullying). I thanked them, but I guarantee you I will find out before them. Students always knew more than teachers about rumors.

But right now, we're back at my house in my room, just me and Alex, sitting on my bed. He smiled at me and moved my hands to hold them in his own. "Okay. I'm just checking."

"Why do you keep asking me?" I questioned.

"I'm just worried, is all. I care about you, so it was hard to see you that upset today."

I smiled at that before wrapping my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. "Thanks."

"It's no problem." He hugged me back, but asked me, "So, are we still playing that birthday party on Saturday?"

"As far as I know, it's still going on," I answered, pulling back from him.

"Sweet." He grinned and kissed me again.

We kissed for a few minutes, but there was a knock on my door and I heard Madison say, her voice muffled by the door, "Autumn?"

"Yeah, Madison?" I asked. Alex got a look in his eyes like he was up to something and put his hands on my hips before he began leaving kisses on my neck.

I pushed him away and gave him a look as Madison continued, "Jack wants you, but he's afraid to open the door."

Alex and I both rolled our eyes. I got off of my bed and rubbed at my eyes as I made my way to the door then opened it. Madison half smiled at me, Jack standing behind her. "What's up, Kitten?"

"I gotta go home. But I wanted to make sure you're okay," he said.

I nodded. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Okay, for the last time, I'm fine." I chuckled a little at the end.

"Okay," Jack said. "I love you, Autumn!" he yelled, hugging me tightly.

"I love you, too, but I can barely breathe, Jack," I said, patting his back. Jack let me go with a smirk then turned around to kiss Madison.

"Aww," Alex and I said together.

"Shut up," Jack said. Then Madison stuck her tongue out at us.

"I'll walk you out," Madison said, taking Jack's hand and pulling him downstairs.

"So you guys can make out again!" Alex called after them.

"No one asked you, Alex!" Madison yelled back.

_**The Next Day, Five O'clock**_

Madison and I were unfolding chairs and placing them around tables. She looked at me with a smirk as I grabbed another chair. "Yes?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" she said.

"Go for it." I unfolded the chair and pushed it under the table then grabbed another one.

"Have you and Alex slept together yet?"

I stopped what I was doing and looked up at Madison, who looked honestly curious. "Why do you ask?" I replied. She didn't know about the first time a month ago, but I guess she was about to.

Madison shrugged. "Just curious. I know you're not a virgin, and I'm pretty sure Alex isn't..."

Valid points. I sighed, finished unfolding the chair, and then we both grabbed another one, moving to the next table. "Remember how I told you I dated Zack and cheated on him?" She nodded, grabbing another chair. "Well...it was with Alex."

Madison looked up at me, eyes wide. "No." I shrugged, half smiling sheepishly. "Autumn!" She hit my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and put down another chair. "I can't believe you!" I gave her a look, put down another chair, and she added, "So is that how this all started?"

"Sorta." I shrugged again.

"Seriously, I would've never guessed."

"I'm complicated, alright?" I laughed. We finished putting down the chairs and, speak of the Devil, Alex walked up with Rian.

"Hey, you two." Alex kissed my cheek, while Rian waved. Madison smiled deviously and put down the very last chair. Alex whispered to me, "Why is she-"

"Not important," I stopped him then crossed my arms. "You guys are late."

Rian rolled his eyes. "It's that one's fault." He pointed to Alex.

"Hey. I had to look good. We're going on stage later."

So, this party is formal. We basically had to wear homecoming and prom style stuff. Madison and I traded dresses, though. I was wearing her green one she wore to homecoming (I didn't look like a leprechaun. Thank you, bleached hair) and she was wearing the red one I wore to homecoming. The guys wore suits (surprising), even the crew had to. They had to set up, even though they didn't go on for another four hours.

There were round tables set up all over the room with chairs around them. The floor looked like the floor of a Hot Topic-people could write on it if they wanted to. The walls were all black, there was a bar to the left, a stage in front of me, and stairs in the back that led to a balcony with more tables. Madison, me, and a lot of other people set up streamers, pictures, and candles...the works. And we weren't even halfway done.

"Go set up." I pushed Alex towards the stage lightly, as well as Rian.

"Pushy pushy," Alex mumbled, but Rian walked forward without a word.

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Madison turned to me with a sly grin. "Shut up," I said.

"I wasn't talking," she laughed.

"Madison..." I warned, walking around her and grabbing a roll of purple streamers, plus tape, before making my way over to a wall.

Madison followed after me, blue and white streamers in her hand. "I love you, Autumn."

"I'll get back to you later on my emotions."

**XXXX**

Before their set, Alex walked up to me, taking my hands in his. "Okay, so, I know you've met my mom already, but she wants you to come over for dinner so she can-and I quote-'get to know you better' and so my dad can meet you."

I studied Alex's face for a second and felt some nerves form in my stomach, then raised an eyebrow. "You sure they won't mind my piercings and unnatural hair color?"

Alex smirked and slid his fingers into the spaces between my own. "She'll love you, I promise. You don't need to be nervous."

"But I am." I smirked up at him. "When were you thinking?"

"Sunday?"

"Tomorrow?" My eyes went wide.

Alex smiled. "Autumn, calm down," he laughed. "Can you come?"

Despite my nerves, I smiled. "I'm sure it won't be a problem. Do I need to wear anything special?" I looked down at myself, studying my shoes and dress for some reason.

He shook his head. "Just be yourself. I'll probably be wearing jeans and a t-shirt. If you're lucky." He winked.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him towards the stage. "Go play."

"You'll watch?"

"Duh."

"Hang on." He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him, pressing his lips to mine. "That's all." He grinned, ending the kiss first.

"No arguments here," I said, walking over to Madison. Alex laughed after me and I hip bumped Jack as I walked past him then high-fived Zack since he was following Jack. "Mads!" I said.

She turned around and smiled at me. "Hey."

"Alex's mom wants me to come over for dinner tomorrow."

She smirked. "Big step."

I sighed. "We're definitely working backwards here."

"Absolutely," Madison agreed.

_**The Next Day**_

After cleaning up last night, we got to go home at about two in the morning, but we were one hundred dollars richer. I woke up at around noon on Sunday, feeling nervous and even more when Alex texted me to be over at his house at six. Holy shit.

At around four, I took a shower and dried my hair, leaving it curly. I sat in front of my bed, studying my closet and trying to figure out what to wear. Madison walked into my room, Jack following her with his hand held in hers. They both sat on my bed and Jack said, "What is so interesting about your closet?"

I rolled my eyes and looked over my shoulder since he was sitting behind me. "Clothes that I don't know what to wear. Madison?" I looked over at her. She sighed, got up, rummaged around my closet, then threw black skinny jeans, a white long sleeve shirt, and a black camisole at me. I caught them all, feeling a tad bit victorious.

"That was easy," Madison said, crossing her arms and turning around.

"Not for me," I mumbled.

"So, are you going to change now?" Jack asked.

I nodded. "Which means you should leave."

"But I won't look!" he defended, but grinned.

"Jack," Madison laughed, "we all know that's a lie."

"Fine." Jack got off of my bed and was walking out, but when he got to the door he looked back at Madison with a confused look. "Okay, now how come she doesn't have to leave?" he asked me, gesturing towards Madison.

Madison furrowed her eyebrows and looked down, but looked back up at Jack. "Pretty sure I've seen it before."

"But that is kind of awkward," I said to her.

"But, Autumn, you're just so hot!" Madison said, fighting a smile.

I snorted and stood up, pushing Madison on the shoulder lightly. "Just get out," I laughed.

Jack smirked and looked at Madison as she walked to the door. "Denied."

"Shut up," she giggled, pushing him out of the room and closing my door behind her.

I changed and put on my Converse before grabbing my cell phone and car keys then walking out of my room. I walked downstairs to find Jack and Madison in the living room on the couch, Jack tickling her, and she was giggling. "No." I pushed them apart, sat next to Madison, and put my arms around Madison's waist. "This is mine."

Madison half smiled sadly at Jack, leaning her head against mine. "It's true. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Jack blinked, but said, "That's hot."

Madison groaned and I let her go and leaned back, saying, "Of course he goes there."

"It would be!" Jack said, laughing.

"Not for us," Madison mumbled. But then she glared at Jack, crossing her arms. "Why are you checking Autumn out?"

"And that's my cue to leave." I stood up, but Madison stopped me.

"You don't have to, I was only teasing."

I looked at the clock on the wall above the TV. 5:45. "I actually have to go. I'll see you later." I walked over to the door and since my parents weren't here, I looked back at them with my hand on the doorknob. "Jack," he looked at me, "don't get her pregnant. Madison," she looked at me, "don't let him rape you. See you when I get back. Bye."

"Bye, Autumn. I'll miss you!" Jack yelled as I walked out. I flipped him off then shut the door behind me.

**Alex's POV**

"Alex, honey, when is Autumn going to be here?" my mom asked, walking into the living room.

"She's on her way," I replied, looking up at her. She nodded and walked back into the kitchen, probably to finish cooking dinner.

In the meantime, I brought my legs up onto the couch, crossing them, and feeling some nerves in my stomach. It had been just now that, for some reason, my mind started thinking doubts. I had just begun to psych myself out when the doorbell rang. Quickly, I got up and made my way to the door, opening it to see Autumn on the other side. I smiled, hiding my nerves. "Hey."

"Hi." She smiled. _She looks so pretty_, I thought. _Tell her. Tell her. Tell her!_

Taking the pussy way out, I just stepped aside and let her walk in, shutting the door behind her. We walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "I can't believe we only have two weeks left of school," she said.

"No kidding," I agreed. "But then we're seniors!"

"Someone's excited." She smirked.

"Mmhmm." I nodded.

Twenty minutes later, We were sitting at the table. I was next to Autumn, across from my mom. My mom was next to my dad. We were eating spaghetti for dinner. "So, Autumn, it's nice to finally meet you," my dad said.

Autumn smiled shyly and replied, "You, too."

"And you're in eleventh grade, too?" my mom asked. Autumn nodded. Mom and Dad kept asking questions about school, Autumn's parents, siblings, and then they asked how our gig went last night. Once dinner was over, I had to clean up the dishes because that was one of my chores. Autumn helped, despite me telling her she didn't have to. This also caused a bubble fight between us for about five minutes that my dad walked in on. We just laughed and he rolled his eyes with a smile before walking back to the living room. Autumn and I finished and I pulled her up to my room, down on my bed after shutting the door.

"So...," I started, worried about what she thought.

"Do you think they like me?" she asked, worry in her eyes and biting her lip nervously.

I smiled, taking my hands in hers. "Of course. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tried to get to know you the way they did."

She half smiled and looked down at the floor. Letting go of one of her hands, I pushed her chin up and met her lips with mine. She kissed me back for a few seconds, but pulled away. "Why'd you stop?" I pouted.

"Because you're parents are downstairs," she replied in a 'duh' tone.

"They won't bother us," I laughed.

Autumn narrowed her eyes, but I could tell it was playfully. "Have your parents walked in on you before?"

"Thank God, no." She laughed and I kissed her cheek.

"I have to work tonight at midnight," Autumn said after a few moments.

I raised an eyebrow. "What about school?"

She shrugged. "I'll be fine. I'll sleep when I get home, go to work until six, go home and get ready for school, then sleep when I get home from school. It messes up my sleep schedule, but it also gives me fifty dollars I didn't have before."

"Grocery stores that are open twenty-four hours are weird," I said. She shrugged again and I blurted, "You look really pretty."

_ Oh. Well...there's one way to finally say what I'm thinking._

Autumn smiled and said, "That was random...but thanks. You don't look so bad right now either." She poked my stomach. I flinched, feeling ticklish and making her grin. "Aww, is Alex ticklish?"

"No," I denied. She poked me again. "Stop it," I said flinching.

"No." She poked me again, still smiling.

"Autumn," I warned, grabbing her hands. But she pulled them away and started full on tickling me.

Laughing, I pushed her down and started tickling her. She giggled a lot, but grabbed my hands to stop me. "Alex!"

I got my hands away and started tickling her again. "No," I laughed.

"Alex, stop!" she laughed, getting a hold of my hands again. Before I could try to get my hands away once again, she leaned up and kissed me.

_Well, that's one way to stop me,_ I thought, kissing her back. Our lips moved together, her arms wrapping around my neck and my hands moving to hold her hips. She pulled back and flipped us over so she was straddling me, taking me by surprise. But all she did was kiss me again, making me moan quietly once her tongue met mine.

Autumn and I made out for a while, but I flipped us back over, causing us to break apart. "When do you have to go home?" I asked, starting to plant kisses on her neck.

It took her a second to reply, but when she did she sounded flustered. "I-I don't think it matters," she said. I kept kissing her skin, eventually biting down, earning a gasp from her. She pushed me back then. "Alex, you're gonna get me in trouble!"

I smirked down at her. "You love it."

"That's beside the point." She stuck her tongue out at me.

"See?" I laughed. Autumn narrowed her eyes and leaned in, doing the same thing to my neck. I moaned quietly again, but pushed her back. "That's harder to hide than yours. You have hair."

"Not my problem." She smirked and kissed me again.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I see how it is."

Autumn flipped us over again. "You are talking too much." She started kissing my neck again.

"Autumn, my parents are downstairs," I teased.

"That never stopped you before."

I brought her lips back to mine, pecking them, and then glancing at the clock that said, 9:16. "Whoa."

"What?" She climbed off of me, just to sit on my right with her legs crossed.

"We kissed for a while." She snorted, laughing. I looked back at her. "You should get some sleep since you have to work in three hours."

Autumn sighed, but half smiled at me. "Okay."

I stood up, offering her my hand. "I'll walk you out?"

She took my hand and got off of my bed. I walked her outside, standing in front of her car like we did a few days ago. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked as I placed both of my hands into hers.

I nodded, feeling myself not wanting her to go. She kissed me again, a lot softer and sweeter than earlier. Once she pulled back, I wrapped her in a hug. "Bye, Autumn."

She let me go. "Bye. See you later." I watched her climb into her car and drive out of the driveway before I made my way back inside.


End file.
